What are the chances of having twins again?

Emma - posted on 09/30/2012

i'm 23 and twins dont run in my family. i got pregnant the first time at 17 and gave birth to fraternal twin boys then 2 1/2 years later i gave birth to fraternal twin girls. now i'm 25 weeks pregnant with fraternal twins a boy and girl. we didn't think i'd fall pregnant with twins again i feel so lucky. you should be happy you do hav an increased chance of having twins again

Tasha - posted on 07/15/2012

I had 2 sets of fraternal twins naturally a year and a half apart.. one set is 4 and one set is almost 20 months.needless to say, although they are a blessing, they are alot of work, and I am terrified (lol) of getting pregnant again. I'm 35 and also have a 15 year old daughter so there is a huge age gap there. I truly believe I will have another set if I conceive again but Im scared to get my tubes tied so BC is my best friend right now...I always wondered where my twins come from though because people always ask does it run in the family and since I am adopted, I didnt know and I read that the woman was totally responsible, and there was no gene because we just happen to release more than one egg every month...good luck with the new baby (or babies :) )

Angela - posted on 10/07/2011

Hi, the male can pass the twin gene on to their daughters. So, fraternal twins are the hereditary type whereas identical twins are not. I have fraternal twins aged 9 and also identical twins aged 4. The possibilities of twinning again after having one set of fraternal twins is higher even still. http://twinstips.com/twin-pregnancy/type...

Krystal - posted on 10/06/2011

The odds if having another set of multiples increases to 50% for those who have fraternal multiples. This is because if you hyperovulate once it is very likely you will again. If you have identical multiples your odds of another set (fraternal or identical) do not increase as identicals do not have anything to do with ovulation, they are a "by chance of nature" thing.

Kaula - posted on 10/05/2011

actually fraternal twins are genetic and come from the mothers side. identical twins are not genetic. i have three year old identical boys.

Erin - posted on 03/09/2011

it is true only if he has the genes. U pass it along but if twins are on his side also, daughter is almost guaranteed

Samantha - posted on 03/09/2011

Hi...i have two sets of twins. I miscarried the very first timeI got pregnant, then had twin boys. Then we wanted a girl, found that we were pregnant again with twins. this time boy/girl. All were in seprate sacs. My doctor said that was odd to have twins back to back. I dont know if my first pregnancy was a twin gestation, I lost the baby at nine weeks. So I don't know the odds, but my doctor said that because I am 6.1 1/2 that my frame is large and that I ma built to carry multiples. I had my tubes tied after the last sets and praying that these were my last.

April - posted on 01/18/2011

I actually have an 8 yr. old girl, 5 yr. old fraternal twin girls and 3 yr. old identical twin boys. I didn't think it was possible to have twins again, and I was so surprised!

Julie - posted on 01/18/2011

Age and risk because of conceiving a set further increase your chances. But it is still not predictable. My oldest son is a twin survivor. I think (based on placenta/etc) that they would have been fraternal. But I do not know for sure. We then had a singleton, then lost a singleton in 2nd trimester, and then conceived ID girls (same placenta, separate sacs) that I carried to term. I have heard that once you conceive a set you are 60+% at higher risk/probability to conceive twins again.

Nicole - posted on 01/15/2011

I have 8 year old fraternal G/G twins, when I was 23, The only twins I know that was in the family before was my nans neices,no one else in the family have been or had twins, I then had a singleton 4 years after them, im not sure about the maths side of it but im sure what ever will be will be, I did once meet an old lady when my girls was small who said she had 3 sets of twins and one single child so maybe there is a higher risk once you have them who knows!! :)

Rebecca - posted on 01/15/2011

I have fraternal twin boys who are six and a single three year old. Before my twin boys - I had a twin miscarriage and a single miscarriage so there was a chance i could of had two sets of fraternal twins. My grandmother was a fraternal twin and her daughters my aunties were fraternal twins. So i do believe if u have the 'fraternal twin' gene who do have a higher chance of conceiving more then one set of twins. Goodluck with ur pregnancy :)

Monica - posted on 01/14/2011

Your chance of having twins increases with age, weight and number of children:) A lot of women in my twins club have 2 sets of twins:) A friend of mine now has 11 year old fraternal twin boys, an 8 year old single boy and 5 year old fraternal boy/girl twins. Good luck!

Liesha - posted on 01/14/2011

Why does it have to be passed from the father's side? Can't it come through either mother or father to hyperovulate? I have been told it skips a generation. In our family it skipped two generations before it got me! I don't know what the odds are, but I decided one set of twins and 2 singletons was enough for me! I am not a gambling woman!

Lynn - posted on 01/14/2011

I was told it was 3 to 4 times more likely I would have a second set of twins

Rachael - posted on 01/14/2011

Hi, I had my identical twin boys back when I was 17! No family history of twins, I went on to have a singleton boy, and to a different dad to the 1st set of twins Ive also had a non-identical set of b/g twins at 26 with no family history of twins either!
I dont really believe in all the numbers/percentages etc as I got told with my 1st set after having twin to twin transfusion that there was a 2% chance of them both surviving with no brain damage etc.....they are now 10 with nothing wrong with them at all! What will be will be regardless of doctors numbers :) x

Brenda - posted on 01/12/2011

I have twin boys. They are now 30 yrs old. I read it was the Mom's side. Once you have twins it was a 60% chance of having twins again. I had a single birth after and before my twins.

Gina - posted on 01/12/2011

I had my first set of twins (boy and girl) in 2005. When I got pregnant again, well I gave birth to another set of twins (boy and girl) in 2008. I was told after the first pregnancy that I had more than 50 percent chances of having another multiple birth (twins, triplets, etc). I never expected it to happen, but it did. We had no history of twins in my family. Apparently the fact of having twins only comes from the women's side (me, my mother, grandmother, ....).

Jodi - posted on 01/11/2011

By the way, I'm only 25, so under the average age to be at an increased "risk" of twins.

Jodi - posted on 01/11/2011

Well, there are absolutely no twins on either side of my family or my husband's family, this is my second twin pregnancy, although my first resulted in a singleton due to one twin miscarrying. I have read everything from 1 in 10000 to 1 in 12 chance of having twins again, I have no idea what to believe. I guess it depends on how often you hyperovulate and how many eggs you actually release when you do hyperovulate.

As for men passing the twin gene, to the best of my knowledge, a man can pass the gene to hyperovulate to his children, it only increases his daughter's chances of producing twins if he actually passes it to her and she hyperovulates because of it.

Claudia - posted on 01/11/2011

I am 29 years old I have an 8 year old girl. 4 year old fraternal twin boys and I just delivered identical TWINS AGAIN this past November...My Paternal grandmother is the only one that has had twins other than myself....

Liz - posted on 01/11/2011

I have a set of b/g twins that will be three in June and a son that will be one in July. While my youngest was a singleton I have a feeling next time around will be multiples again.

Rebecca - posted on 01/11/2011

I think doctors don't know their math!! If there was a 17% chance of having another set of fraternal twins if you already have one, almost 1 in 5 moms of fraternal twins would have two sets or more. There would be twins everywhere if that were true!

Michelle - posted on 01/11/2011

The number I was given was 1 in 10,000 of those who already have fraternal twins will have them again. I have a set of fraternal and a set of identical. I met a retired pediatrician once that was very excited to see our unusual family. He told me it was 17% chance of having twins a second time. Math is not my strong suit so I don't know.

Rebecca - posted on 01/09/2011

The chances are higher than an average women in terms of having another set of fraternals, but the odds are still pretty low. I've seen all sorts of numbers around this topic -- some say the odds are 5 times as high, but that would still only give you about a 5% chance (vs. 1% for the regular population). My doctor said the odds of having two sets of fraternals was about 1 in 10,000. Of course, I'm carrying my second second of fraternals right now, so maybe math isn't his strong suit! I will say I had one pregnancy inbetween (which resulted in a miscarriage) that was a singleton. Overall, I would say the odds are against you, but it does happen.

Melissa - posted on 01/09/2011

The man can pass the twin gene on to any children he has, they cannot cause a woman to have twins. Fraternal twins are the only genetic twins, identicals just happen. Fraternals are caused by a woman hyper-ovulating, and this condition can be caused by many things. Genetics, fertility drugs, age, stress can all cause a woman to extract multiple eggs from the ovaries. If a woman has fraternal twins once, it doubles her chances of having them again.

I did a lot of research when I was pregnant with twins since my husband already had a set of fraternal twin boys. One in ever 85 pregnancies is a twin pregnancy now. We now have 16 year old fraternal twin boys, an almost 8 year old boy, and 2 year old identical twin girls. Good luck with your pregnancy.