Link between pill, twins

Press, 5 July 1983, Page 14

Link between pill, twins

NZPA-Reuter London Twins are more likely for women who conceive within three months of coming off the contraceptive pill, according to details of a study, given in London. It showed that the incidence of twins was even greater if the mother became pregnant within a month of coming off the pill. The survey of more than 2000 mothers of twins in Britain, the United States, Australia and South Africa was released at the fourth International Congress on Twin Studies. Mrs Pat Stewart, of the Australian Multiple Birth Association, told delegates that other results of the survey, including congenital abnormalities, had yet to be assessed, the “Guardian” reported. “It is the time lapse between stopping taking the pill and becoming pregnant that is the crucial factor,” Mrs Stewart said. “The British figures

showed an astonishingly strong link.” The average woman has a one in 100 chance of conceiving twins, 80 per cent of which are non-iden-tical, the “Guardian” said. The average age of the mothers was 29 and most had already had one pregnancy. The study was based on a 30-year period, 15 years before the pill came into use and 15 years after. In that period there has been a marked decline in the number of non-identical twins. The president of the International Society for Twin Studies, Professor lan MacGillivray, told the conference that the peak age for the conception of twins’ was 35 and their mothers tended to be taller and heavier, although not necessarily fatter than average. Professor MacGillivray, a gynaecologist and obstetrician and the father of twins, wondered if there might be a breed of “supermums” and “superdads.”