What bundles of joy

Carrying one child may present a challenge for most mothers. However, those expecting twins, triplets, or more may face even more challenges.

THE number of multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets, or more) has risen significantly in recent years. The United States, for example, registered 100,750 twins and 5, 939 triplets in 1996. In 2006, up to 137,085 pairs of twins and 6,118 triplets were born (source: US Centers for Disease Control). The sharp increase suggests that more couples will follow this trend of having a multiple pregnancy.

Furthermore, advances in fertility treatments have not only enabled women with fertility issues to conceive, they make it possible to conceive more than one child at a time. One such treatment is in-vitro fertilisation, an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that increases the chances of conception by harvesting the eggs and fertilising them outside the body, before transferring them back to the mother's uterus.

Babies from multiple pregnancies may find themselves fighting harder to survive compared to babies from single pregnancies. �C AFP

This procedure involves implanting more than one fertilised egg in the uterus, resulting in the possibility of conceiving more than one child. Additionally, we have also observed the increased used of fertility medications, such as menotropins and clomiphene, which have increased the number of multiple pregnancies.

However, multiple pregnancies can also occur naturally. For instance, if your family has a history of fraternal twins or triplets, you have higher odds of having them, too. Research has shown that there is a gene for hyperovulation, where more than one egg is released during the ovulation cycle, that can be passed from mother to daughter.

Women who opt to delay their pregnancies into their 30s and beyond may also experience higher chances for multiple pregnancies due to age-related hormonal changes, which also causes more than one egg to be released at a time.

Carrying and rearing one baby is challenging enough for most mothers, especially first-time mothers. Not only will she have to cope with the responsibility of caring for a new life, she will also have to cope with the physical and psychological changes that accompany the arrival of a newborn. The same goes for the family unit. Now, imagine multiplying all these challenges at once, and you might just get a small glimpse into what it is like to parent more than one baby at a time.