Q&A
What Are The Odds of Conceiving Twins?
Question:
What are the chances of conceiving twins, if you're not on fertility drugs or treatment?
Twins can either develop from the division of one fertilized ovum (identical twins) or originate from two separate ova each fertilized by a different sperm (fraternal twins).
Identical twinning is actually random, and have a universal occurrence of approximately 4 per 1,000 births in all populations.
As for fraternal twinning, factors such as the maternal age and race, among others, come into play. In general, your odds of conceiving fraternal twins increase with your age. Only about 3 in 1,000 women under the age of 20 will conceive fraternal twins, but this increases to 14 in 1,000 for women between the ages of 35 and 40.
Among worldwide populations, the frequency of fraternal twinnings is low in Asian and Hispanic races, relatively more common in Caucasians and the highest among African races.
You will also have increased chances of conceiving fraternal twins if you, your mother, or maternal grandmother is a fraternal twin. You may carry a gene for hyperovulation or the releasing of more than one egg during an ovulation cycle, which increases your ability to conceive fraternal twins.
