Work at Home Success By Jill Hart
Mom Laughs By Cheryl Moeller
Simplifying Motherhood By Trish Berg
Ask A Twin Mommy By Cheryl Lage
Mothering By Heart By Cheri Fuller
Jelly Mom By Lisa Barker
Family Check-up By Sheila Wray Gregoire
Parent to Parent By Jodie Lynn
Moments for Mom By Elisabeth Corcoran
Making the Most of Marriage By Paula Friedrichsen
Second Set Statistics?
July, 2006
By Cheryl Lage
QUESTION:
I need some help! I have three year old fraternal boys.
I'm trying to find some information.
I'm pregnant again and am scared thinking I could have twins again.
I would love a little girl...what are my chances that I could have twins again?
Having twins is so hard, but fun of course....
I really want to see how it would be with one.
Thanks
ANSWER:
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Hoping you are feeling as well as can be expected. Statistically, your chances of a second set of twins are contingent on many factors.In the most simplistic of terms, 1 in 35 births is a twin birth (http://www.nomotc.org/library/incidence.html). Many contend that that number now is closer to in in 30...but I am unable to track a citation on that figure. According to the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs documentation (http://www.nomotc.org/library/twinning_facts.html), once you have had one set of fraternal twins, your likelihood of having another set is 3-4 times more likely than for the general population....but that still far from means you are "automatically" going to have a second set!
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Another factor that makes a difference is your age. Moms-to-be over the age of 35 stand a greater chance of twins even without medical intervention. (Many believe that "older" moms only have multiples due to in-vitro and other fertility treatments/procedures. Even acting "on her own", Mother Nature doles out more twins to elder moms via "double drops" of eggs.)
As far as your likelihood of having a daughter goes, with a single child in utero your chances of having a girl are 50:50....regardless of the gender of your preceding babies. Having two boys already doesn't increase or decrease your likelihood of having a girl this go around.
If indeed you ARE pregnant with twins, while I acknowledge and empathize with the "hard" factor, you are an experienced twin mama this time around! Either way, your past experience will be a help with this new baby (or babies!).Wishing you all the best, and I hope you will stay in touch with us and let us know how you are faring.
Best and blessings-
Cheryl
www.Twinsights.com
Feel free to contact me with your experiences in twin potty-training, or with any twin parenting dilemnas you may have at http://www.twinsights.com. I hope to hear from you!
© Cheryl Lage, 2004-
Author of "Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice From Pregnancy Through the First Year" from Taylor Trade Publishing (2006), Cheryl is a fully-mobile, full-time mom to four-year-old fraternal twins, Darren and Sarah. Cheryl's unabashed honesty, vigilantly supportive style, and willingness to share "what works" have made her a requested speaker on a broad range of topics, twin-related, and otherwise. Check out her website @ twinsights.com.