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Is twin childbearing on the decline? twin births in the United States, 2014–2018
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October 2019
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[PDF-446.72 KB]
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Description:Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System
• Following more than three decades of increases, the twin birth rate declined 4% during 2014–2018, to the lowest rate in more than a decade, 32.6 twins per 1,000 total births in 2018.
• The number of births in twin deliveries declined an average of 2% per year from 2014 through 2018, dropping to 123,536 births in 2018.
• Twin birth rates declined among mothers aged 30 and over, with the largest declines among older mothers aged 40 and over.
• The twinning rate dropped 7% among non-Hispanic white mothers from 2014 to 2018 (34.3 in 2018), but was essentially unchanged among non-Hispanic black (40.5) and Hispanic (24.4) mothers.
• Twin birth rates declined in 17 states and rose in three states.
Following years of relative stability, twin births began to climb in the United States in the early 1980s, rising 79% from 1980 to 2014 (1,2). In 1980, one in every 53 births was a twin, compared with one in every 29 births in 2014 (1,2). The increase in twinning over the more than three decades was widespread, occurring across age and race and Hispanic-origin groups, and in all U.S. states (1,2). It is important to track twin birth rates as twins are at greater risk than singletons for poor outcomes, including preterm birth and neonatal morbidity and mortality (1,3,4). This report presents trends in twin childbearing overall for 1980–2018, and by maternal age, race and Hispanic origin, and state of residence for 2014–2018.
Suggested citation: Martin JA, Osterman MJK. Is twin childbearing on the decline? Twin births in the United States, 2014–2018. NCHS Data Brief, no 351. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019.
CS310511
db351-h.pdf
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