You can increase your chances of having twins
Twins can occur naturally in any woman at any time, says Godfrey Alia, a gynaecologist at Mulago Hospital. Naturally conceived twins occur in about one out of every 89 births, he adds.
By Halima Shaban
Twins can occur naturally in any woman at any time, says Godfrey Alia, a gynaecologist at Mulago Hospital. Naturally conceived twins occur in about one out of every 89 births, he adds.
But there are many women who pray for twins and would like to know if there is any way to increase chances of conceiving multiples.
Typically, a woman releases one egg from her ovaries during ovulation, which is fertilised by a sperm. For twins, there is a change in the process of fertilisation. The most common is known as hyperovulation. “This is a genetic condition where more than one egg is released simultaneously,†he says. “The gene only affects women, but can be got from the male parent,†Alia says.
Fraternal twins (who don’t resemble), share 50% of their DNA and, unlike identical twins who share 100%, the do not necessarily look similar in appearance.
He says identical twins form when there is a change in the regular process of embryo division. If after fertilisation, the embryo splits into two instead of sub-dividing as a unit, identical twins are created.
Haruna Mwanjje, a gyneacologist at Mulago Hospital, says one’s chances of conceiving twins naturally are slim, and you can do very little about it.
How to get twins
Look for a ‘twin’ family
Alia says couples with a history of twins in their family have a higher chance of conceiving twins. If you want twins, he advises, partner with a twin or a person with twins in the family.
The older the better
The New Science magazine published a research, saying chances of twins increase with age in a woman. When women become older, their ovaries get into overdrive. As their fertility declines, their levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), rises steadily to counter failing ovaries.
And as the body overcompensates, it shoots hormone levels so high that two eggs are released, Dr Roy Homburg of the Free University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, explained.
Fertility treatment
Fertility medications may cause the ovary to release several eggs at ago. This can be done by any gyneacologist. Do not self-medicate, there are risks.
In-Vitro fertilisation
You can also undergo In-vitro fertilisation (IVF). This involves implanting more than one fertilised egg (embryo) into your uterus. This can be done at fertility treatment centres like the one in Bukoto, Kampala.
Herbal treatment
Hussein Katumba, a herbalist from Uganda Joint Herbal clinic, says a person who has never given birth, can be given herbs that stimulate her ovaries to release more than one egg per ovulation.
The white yam
The Yoruba in western Nigeria have 41.6 twin births per 1,000 deliveries (4%), which is the highest number of multiple births in the world. (The world average rate of twins is 0.5%).
Scientists link this to the yam, a staple food among the Yoruba. Obstetricians from Yale University in the US, in conjunction with the University of Benin in Nigeria, discovered that women who ate more yams were more likely to have twins. In the laboratory, the rats they fed on those yams had more litters than those fed other foods. They explained that yams have a substance similar to clomiphene citrate, a drug commonly used to stimulate the ovaries to produce more than one egg in women per cycle.
Dr Lauren Adenekan, a Nigerian doing research at Kampala University says the twins yam in West Africa is different from the ones in Uganda.
Twins can occur naturally in any woman at any time, says Godfrey Alia, a gynaecologist at Mulago Hospital. Naturally conceived twins occur in about one out of every 89 births, he adds.
But there are many women who pray for twins and would like to know if there is any way to increase chances of conceiving multiples.
Typically, a woman releases one egg from her ovaries during ovulation, which is fertilised by a sperm. For twins, there is a change in the process of fertilisation. The most common is known as hyperovulation. “This is a genetic condition where more than one egg is released simultaneously,†he says. “The gene only affects women, but can be got from the male parent,†Alia says.
Fraternal twins (who don’t resemble), share 50% of their DNA and, unlike identical twins who share 100%, the do not necessarily look similar in appearance.
He says identical twins form when there is a change in the regular process of embryo division. If after fertilisation, the embryo splits into two instead of sub-dividing as a unit, identical twins are created.
Haruna Mwanjje, a gyneacologist at Mulago Hospital, says one’s chances of conceiving twins naturally are slim, and you can do very little about it.
How to get twins
Look for a ‘twin’ family
Alia says couples with a history of twins in their family have a higher chance of conceiving twins. If you want twins, he advises, partner with a twin or a person with twins in the family.
The older the better
The New Science magazine published a research, saying chances of twins increase with age in a woman. When women become older, their ovaries get into overdrive. As their fertility declines, their levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), rises steadily to counter failing ovaries.
And as the body overcompensates, it shoots hormone levels so high that two eggs are released, Dr Roy Homburg of the Free University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, explained.
Fertility treatment
Fertility medications may cause the ovary to release several eggs at ago. This can be done by any gyneacologist. Do not self-medicate, there are risks.
In-Vitro fertilisation
You can also undergo In-vitro fertilisation (IVF). This involves implanting more than one fertilised egg (embryo) into your uterus. This can be done at fertility treatment centres like the one in Bukoto, Kampala.
Herbal treatment
Hussein Katumba, a herbalist from Uganda Joint Herbal clinic, says a person who has never given birth, can be given herbs that stimulate her ovaries to release more than one egg per ovulation.
The white yam
The Yoruba in western Nigeria have 41.6 twin births per 1,000 deliveries (4%), which is the highest number of multiple births in the world. (The world average rate of twins is 0.5%).
Scientists link this to the yam, a staple food among the Yoruba. Obstetricians from Yale University in the US, in conjunction with the University of Benin in Nigeria, discovered that women who ate more yams were more likely to have twins. In the laboratory, the rats they fed on those yams had more litters than those fed other foods. They explained that yams have a substance similar to clomiphene citrate, a drug commonly used to stimulate the ovaries to produce more than one egg in women per cycle.
Dr Lauren Adenekan, a Nigerian doing research at Kampala University says the twins yam in West Africa is different from the ones in Uganda.