Multiple births
Visit Pregnancy, Birth and Baby or follow the links below to find information about multiple births.
Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content.
Last reviewed: April 2022
Need more information?
These trusted information partners have more on this topic.
Top results
Types of multiple pregnancy
Multiple pregnancies, including twins, triplets and more, are rare but require lots of support. Find out about different types of multiple pregnancy here.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Twins, triplets and multiples
If you are having twins, triplets or more, find out everything you need to know about your pregnancy, the birth, feeding and raising your babies.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Multiple birth - triplets or more
If you are pregnant with triplets or more, the birth will need careful planning. The main risk is that your babies will be born prematurely. Find out more here.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Breastfeeding triplets, quads or more! | Australian Breastfeeding Association
Some mothers find breastfeeding one baby demanding. Breastfeeding three or four or more could be viewed as a definite challenge. But many mothers succeed. Knowing how breastfeeding works will help you understand how it is possible to breastfeed twins, triplets, quads or more.
Read more on Australian Breastfeeding Association website
Breastfeeding twins | Australian Breastfeeding Association
This article is a shortened version of our booklet 'Breastfeeding:twins, triplets and more' in which we have drawn from the experiences of other mothers of twins to put together information and ideas. We hope these will help you deal with the challenges of breastfeeding and parenting your babies.
Read more on Australian Breastfeeding Association website
Multiple pregnancy (triplets or more)
Learning you're pregnant with triplets or more can be a shock, but overall, most parents find having multiple babies to be a positive experience.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Fraternal twins & identical twins | Raising Children Network
Whether you’re having fraternal twins or identical twins, it’s good to find out during pregnancy. Get the facts you need about different types of twins.
Read more on raisingchildren.net.au website
Raising multiple babies
Raising multiple babies - triplets or more - involves planning, hard work, and well designed routines. But with support, raising multiples does get easier.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
Giving birth to twins
Twins are more likely to be born early, often before 38 weeks, so it's important to understand your birth options.
Read more on Pregnancy, Birth & Baby website
What is the frequency of MZ and DZ twin births?
Birth rates for MZ twins are consistent among all races (about 4 per 1000); but the incidence of DZ twinning varies among races (8 per 1000, among Caucasians, 16 per 1000 among people of African descent, and 4 per 1000 among Asians). A genetic predisposition or inherited characteristic for DZ twinning exists in some families, but the consistency of MZ twinning among all populations suggests that identical twinning is a random occurrence that is not influenced by genes. Overall, about 1 in 80 births in Australia is a twin and of these about 30% are MZ.
Read more on Twins Research Australia website
Top results
Classic twin study
The classic twin design aims to quantify the roles of genetic and environmental causes of variation in traits and in disease susceptibility.
Read more on Twins Research Australia website
Twin study designs
Although the exact study design and analytic approach may be unique to every study, here are some general classes of study designs involving twins and some statistical guidelines.
Read more on Twins Research Australia website
