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Maternal characteristics of women having twin pregnancies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

D. M. Campbell
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, and Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology
A. J. Campbell
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, and Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology
I. MacGillivray
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, and Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology

Summary

A comparison was made between 1308 mothers delivered of twins in Aberdeen between 1950 and 1969 and mothers of singleton infants. There was a greater number of tall women amongst mothers of twins. This was more marked in primigravidae than in multiparae. The rate of twinning was less in thin women than in those who were obese or of normal build. The social class of the husband did not appear to influence the incidence of twins. The rate of weight gain in twin pregnancies, even in early pregnancy, was high compared with the rate in singleton pregnancies. The more frequent occurrence of twinning in heavier, taller women, suggests that nutrition might be responsible but this is not borne out by the findings about social class.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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