Triplets, Quadruplets, Quintuplets, Sextuplets, Multiples

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Supertwins Statistics

Subsequent Pregnancy Survey

Statistics from July 2006

Primary researcher: Diane Wipfler, OTR/L, MOST Chairman/Associate Medical Director

Additional researchers: Maureen A Doolan Boyle, MOST Executive Director; Lauretta Shokler, MOST Technology Director

The MOST Subsequent Pregnancy survey is an ongoing study. The survey is available only to MOST members, and can be completed by contacting the MOST office. This survey gathers data pertaining to socio-demographic status, medical, gynecologic, and obstetric history, pregnancy, perinatal and neonatal events for both multiple births and subsequent pregnancies.

Background:

The MOST Subsequent Pregnancy survey has 32 responses.

Percent of surveys by previous multiple birth:

       77.4% Triplet

       19.4% Quadruplet

       3.2% Quintuplet

Six of the 32 surveys returned indicated having older children; five of those had one older child, and one had two.

Conception:

Only one survey returned indicated two singleton subsequent pregnancies, but three subsequently had both twins and a singleton, and one subsequently had triplets and a singleton. Two survey respondents had one subsequent twin pregnancy.

Six subsequent pregnancies (or 16%) were multiples:

5 sets of twins

1 set of triplets

The average time between the birth of respondents' multiples and their subsequent pregnancies was 3 years 4 months.

Delivery:

The average gestation and birth weights for subsequent deliveries are as follows:

       Baby 1: 7lbs 6 oz (31 singletons, 5 twins, 1 triplet)

       Baby 2: 6 lbs 4 oz (5 twins, 1 triplet)

       Baby 3: 6 lbs 6 oz (1 triplet)

The average gestation for these 32 subsequent deliveries was 38.2 weeks broken down as follows:

       38.6 weeks for singleton subsequent pregnancies

       36.6 weeks for twin subsequent pregnancies

       36 weeks for triplet subsequent pregnancies

Subsequent Pregnancy Gestations

Delivery Type

# of Infants

Average Gestation

vaginal birth

singleton

39.5

c-section

singleton

38.5

c-section

twins

36.6

c-section

triplets

36

Type of delivery for subsequent pregnancies:

       13.5% vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)

       83.8% cesarean section

       2.7% combination of VBAC and cesarean section

Percent indicating the following complications:

13%	Preterm Labor
9%	Gestational Diabetes
9%	Placenta Previa
9%	Premature Rupture of Membranes (PROM)
9%	Other (Window in Uterus, Ruptured Uterus, Sleep Problems)
6%	Infection
3%	Intra-uterine Growth Problems
3%	Prenatal Loss