How common are twins?

[SiTay]

So... I'd be interested in knowing because no one really knows the answer.

My husband's dad is a non identical twin and so are my auntie's (my father's sisters) as far as I am aware these are both from the second pregnancy.

I understand that men pass on the "twin-gene" but how likely do we think it will be for me to have twins?

All of my generation have started and finished their families (no more babies planned) apart from 2 of my younger cousins

I should also let you know I do have a 18 month old DS

Fraternal twins come from the mother releasing 2 eggs (unless IVF etc). There can be a genetic correlation on this.

Identical twins apparently have no genetic link but since having twins I have met so many people who have more than one set of identical twins in a family (so for example 3 families with 2 sets of identical twins, a mother who is an identical twin giving birth to identical twins, a mother whose own mother was identical twin giving birth to identical twins).

To have non identical twins the woman needs to produce two eggs. The man has no influence on that!
I was told one in 12 pregnancies starts as twins, but most are reduced to one baby before the mother even knows about it. My doctor told me this when I was wondering about the likelihood of having a second set of twins.

Just to add, apparently most women can't carry 2 or more babies, but if you have done it once you are likely to be able to do it again, which explains the relatively high number who have more than one set of twins.

There will be a 'how many twins per pregnancy per year' or similar on google I should think.

I've got identical twins, second pregnancy. Identical twins can happen to anyone, it's the non identicals that run in families. Non identical twins are from two separate eggs released in one cycle, so your husband's dad being a twin doesn't affect you, although your husband may pass on the multi egg gene to any daughters you have together, if that makes sense? It's apparently where the 'skip a generation' thing comes from. (Only females can do the ovulating, nothing to do with the family history of the sperm provider!)

All that aside, I read somewhere that older women are supposedly more likely to have non identical twins whether there is any family history or not, because as your fertility declines, your body release more eggs to increase your chance of one being fertilised or something like that

I work in a department of 15 people. Four of us have twin sisters!

Twins are carried down the maternal line. Maybe take out twin insurance if you’re worried?

There’s a load of factors which can influence non-id twins- mother’s height, weight, ethnicity and age for example.

I’m a non-identical twin- I have a 1 in 7 chance of conceiving them myself apparently.

As a PP said, it’s irrelevant if there’s any type of twins on your DP’s side as it’s all dependent on you either releasing two eggs at ovulation, or a fertilised egg splitting purely by chance.

Its something like 1 in 80 pregnancies is twins.
However, if you've already got a set of non identical twins, the chances of a second set is 1 in 8.
That 1 in 8 chance gave me nightmares when I was expecting my youngest, until I had a scan

I know a family of three brothers who married women who weren't related. All three wives gave birth to fraternal twins.

My mind boggles at the probability of that.

For twin information Tamba.org.uk is a good source.

So for absolute clarity, because the twins in your family are all through a male line, you are not at increased risk of fraternal twins.

Fraternal twin likelihood is influenced mainly by the mother (although fathers with higher sperm counts/quality may also have higher chances of fertilizing two eggs---but only if the mother releases two eggs in the first place!)

Identical twin likelihood is generally said to be random, but identical twins have been known to cluster in some populations, probably due to a hereditary tendency towards late blast implantation. Some villages with a lot of ITs are attracting attention from researchers who are trying to find out what the mechanism is.

Yes as previous posters have said, you have to inherit the ability to release two eggs during ovulation. You can interrupt that from your mum's side or else your dad's mum etc but your husband has nothing to do with it.

I only think twins are carried down the maternal line it’s just that the twins have to be in the woman’s family as she’s the one who produces 2 eggs at once?

Me and my half sister both have twins and have uncles who are twins. We only share a father.

Sorry that should say I don’t think twins are only carried down the maternal line

Fraternal twins are only on the mothers side, it has nothing to do with the male.

Fraternal twin likelihood increases with age as the woman starts egg dumping as she gets older.

Identical twins are s fluke of nature and anyone could have these- it's random.

Fraternal twin numbers are increasing due fertility treatments and therefore going forward will scu any reliability on family history of twins.

I'm a mother to fraternal twins xx

Having recently found out I'm pregnant with (probably) non-identical twins, I've been reading up on this.

"Risk" factors (for want of a better term) are:

Genetic predisposition to release multiple eggs per month - doesn't necessarily mean you'll actually have twins in the family, but realistically they are the only way you'd know if this was the case!

Being older - i.e. the older you are the more likely you are to have twins, as you're more likely to be releasing two eggs per cycle, presumably due to some urgent biological imperative to get pregnant

Being taller - not sure why?

Being overweight - not sure why?

Certain ethnic backgrounds, I forget what

Conception via IVF - as you have multiple fertilised eggs put in there (not the correct medical terminology)

That being said, none of these really apply to me, that I know of, so it can just be a total fluke!

Thank you everyone for your replies.
I think I am more intrigued at if there is a chance. I mean, I'd of love twins for the first pregnancy but going from 1 child to 3 makes me want to wait for a bigger age gap or more wine maybe required 

Ok, so to clarify because the twins are my fathers sisters are non identical twins this "probably" won't affect me.

When I asked my dad about how common they are in our family he said "apart from Auntie's . I Lost twins with first wife . Your Great Nan was a twin . She also had twin sisters . Great Grandad had twin sisters or Brothers or both ? He was one of 13 . All on your Nans side . It's an Irish thing ." Then went on to question me about if I was having twins

Are you pregnant at the moment OP?

You could arrange a private scan from 6 weeks which will tell you one way or another, if you’re that keen to know.

@PennyMordauntsLadyBrain No, I'm currently on the coil (and covered in acne but that's a whole other story )
It's just something that I would like to know more about with it being common on both sides of our family
DH is convinced he doesn't want anymore children!

@doodlejump1980 @OuchLegoHurts @Waterdropsdown @TransposersArePosers And everyone else that has replied
I have read online that men pass the gene on? So does that mean that is the male is a twin him self?

The mind boggles

The twins being your fathers sisters would mean you could have the twin gene. Your father couldn’t have had twins because of it but he could have passed the gene to you.

Going from 1 to 3 is bloody hard work lol

@BertramKibbler I think I'll stick to 1 for my sanity haha

I have no idea but I come from a family with no history of twins. DP's GF was a non identical twin and we recently discovered we're expecting (probably) non identical twins. I am tall, overweight, late 30's and this is pregnancy number 6 (3 losses) so I meet most of the factors that increase chances of twins but mostly just feels like a fluke!
As pp has mentioned, twin insurance might be something to think about.

My father is a non identical twin. Does that mean I have a higher risk of twins?