Trying To Conceive Multiples

Trying To Conceive Multiples

The odds of conceiving spontaneous multiples naturally without a family history of twins / multiples, a personal history of hyperovulation (the release of more than one egg), using fertility drugs and / or fertility procedures, such as artificial inseminations (IUIs) and Invitro Fertilization (IVF) seem pretty low, especially when you are trying to conceive in your 20s. Low, but not impossible.

General Odds of Conceiving Multiples Naturally

According to the American Society For Reproductive Medicine's article, Multiple Pregnancies, and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High Order Multiples, states, "Naturally, twins occur in about one in 250 pregnancies, triplets in about one in 10,000 pregnancies, and quadruplets in about one in 700,000 pregnancies" (Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High-order Multiples).

In Mama Natural's article, What Are Your Chances of Having Twins, she writes, "The chances are small because of the worldwide the chances of having twins are about 12-16 in 1,000 people. However, she notes the chances of having identical twins are about the same for everyone because identical twins come from a single egg splitting into two and are considered a random and rare event" (What Are Your Chances Of Having Twins).

Factors That May Increase Chances 

of Conceiving Multiples Naturally

- Diet -

According to this article, Chances of Having Twins Can Be Modified By Diet, "Dr. Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center found Women who consume animal products, specifically dairy, are five times more likely to have twins" (Chances of Having Twins Can Be Modified By Diet).

In Mama Natural's article, What Are Your Chances of Having Twins, she writes, "Women who eat full-fat foods over nonfat or low fat are more likely to conceive twins" (What Are Your Chances Of Having Twins). 

- Maternal Age -

According to Web MD's article, 11 Things You Didn't Know About Twin Pregnancies, "You are more likely to give birth to twins naturally in your 30s and 40s" (Mann).

In Very Well's article, What are my chances for twins, "Did you know women over the age of 30 have an increased risk of having twins? The hormones FSH rises as a woman gets older. An increased of FSH is a sign of lowered fertility.  Sometimes the follicles react to the higher FSH levels and two or more eggs are released causing a twin pregnancy" (Gurevich).

- 4 or More Pregnancies -

According to the American Society For Reproductive Medicine's article, Multiple Pregnancies, and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High Order Multiples, states, "The frequency of twins increases with maternal age and the number of pregnancies. Women 35 to 40 years of age with 4 or more children are 3x more likely to have twins than a woman under 20 without children" (Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High-order Multiples).

- Trying To Conceive While Breastfeeding -

Breastfeeding problems.com's article, Breastfeeding & Fertility, says "Women who become pregnant while breastfeeding is more likely to become pregnant with twins. According to this article, the nonlactating population's chances are said to be 1.1% for conceiving twins, but 12.4% for a breastfeeding mother" (Breastfeeding & Fertility).

According to this article, Chances of Having Twins Can Be Modified By Diet, "Dr. Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish Medical Center found that women who become pregnant while breastfeeding are nine times more likely to conceive twins than women who are not breastfeeding at the time of conception" (Chances of Having Twins Can Be Modified By Diet).

Throwing out a disclaimer. This one, I personally feel is a hit or miss factor that may require other factors for multiples to occur because I have achieved pregnancy while breastfeeding without conceiving twins. I conceived my second child while breastfeeding my first. We tried for 6 cycles out of 9 periods and it resulted in a singleton pregnancy. I conceived at age 23 but turned 24 by the time my baby was born. I conceived my third while breastfeeding my second. We tried for 10 cycles and it resulted in a singleton pregnancy. I was age 26 when my third child was conceived and born. I am also in an online trying to conceive while breastfeeding forum, where many mothers ages 20-45 have become pregnant while breastfeeding their babies or toddlers or shortly after weaning them and the majority have singleton babies. Although there are occasionally stories online similar to this: One mom on a forum said she had no family history of twins, became pregnant while breastfeeding and discovered she was having twins, and it was her seventh pregnancy. She had become pregnant while breastfeeding in all of her pregnancies, except for her first and this was her first time conceiving twins. Age was not disclosed. Going back to my online forum, in recent years we have had a couple mothers join who had multiples. However, it seemed even with the increased risk of having multiples with a previous multiples pregnancy and breastfeeding, they got the opposite result you may have expected. One mother had spontaneous triplets for her first pregnancy, followed by a singleton pregnancy and is currently expecting another singleton. Another mother had twins for her first pregnancy, followed by two singleton pregnancies.

- Trying To Conceive While Overweight-

"Women who are obese or have a BMI of over 30, are more likely to have twins than women with healthier BMIs" (Gurevich).

Supplements That May Increase Chances 

of Conceiving Multiples Naturally

- Cassava Root Supplements -

Cassava Root is said to increase fertility and may even cause hyperovulation to occur in some women. Supposedly the key to making this product work is taking it long term, such as 12 months, although the manufacturer's website says its effective after 3-6 months of use.

- Soy Isoflavones Supplements -

Soy Isoflavones is supposed to be nature's Clomid. It is suggested if a woman takes it from cycle days 3-7 240 mg equivalent to a Clomid dosage she will cause hyperovulation. 

Throwing out a disclaimer. Now I have tried Soy Isoflavones, although it is not recommended for women with Endometriosis when I was trying to conceive my third child while breastfeeding my second child. I did not take the dose 240 mg since it was my first time trying Soy and I was hesitant to take too much. I took it my 10th cycle for the first time to help ovulate early enough for my luteal phase to be long enough and that was the cycle I became pregnant with my third child in a singleton pregnancy. I know of two other women in my breastfeeding forum who also became pregnant the cycle they took Soy Isoflavones and it resulted in singleton pregnancies as well. I mention this  in my Soy Isoflavones post.

- Grape Fruit Juice For Fertility -

This is one I heard before, drinking grapefruit juice every other day is supposed to help with fertility and increase your chances of becoming pregnant. According to Live Strong.com, "Many women report that drinking grapefruit juice changes the consistency of their cervical mucus, making it thinner.  In addition, grapefruit juice also provides iron and folate, which are especially important in the early stages of pregnancy. For those not looking to become pregnant, drinking grapefruit juice regular may affect the effectiveness of some birth control" (Brannagan). Pregnant Naturally.com says, "Despite being acidic, grapefruit juice has an alkalizing effect once digested which can make the mucus, even more, sperm friendly" ( ).

article link: http://pregnant-naturally.com/ten-ways-to-improve-cervical-mucu/

- Bibliography - 

Brannagan, Meg. "Grapefruit Facts for Reproductive Health."LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Oct. 2016. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/158729-grapefruit-facts-for-reproductive-health/>.

"Breastfeeding and Fertility." Fertility Breastfeeding Advice. Breastfeeding-problems.com, 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://www.breastfeeding-problems.com/breastfeeding-and-fertility.html>.

"CHANCES OF HAVING TWINS CAN BE MODIFIED BY DIET." The Hatch Blog. She Knows. LLC, 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/the-hatch-blog/articles/944655/want-twins-new-studies-suggest-how-to-increase-your-odds>.

Gurevich, Rachel. "Will You Conceive Twins? Here Are 9 Things That Boost Your Odds." Very well. About, Inc., 6 Oct. 2016. Web. 22 Oct. 2016. <https://www.verywell.com/what-are-my-chances-of-having-twins-1960180>.

Mann, Denise, and Louise Chang, MD. "Here Are 11 Things You Should Know About Twin Pregnancies." WebMD. WebMD, 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/11-things-you-didnt-know-about-twin-pregnancies>.

"Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High-order Multiples." American Society for Reproductive Medicine. American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2012. Web. 16 Dec. 2015. <http://www.asrm.org/BOOKLET_Multiple_Pregnancy_and_Birth/>.

"What Are Your Chances of Having Twins? | Mama Natural." Mama Natural. Mama Natural, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://www.mamanatural.com/chances-of-having-twins/>.