Fewer twins born in Netherlands

Last year a total of 2,682 births in the Netherlands involved two or more babies. Most of them were twins, though 43 of them were triplets or more. According to Statistics Netherlands, the number of twins born annually in the country is thereby continuing its annual decline. The number of twin births reached a peak in 2002 with 3,707. After that the annual number declined to around 2,700 last years. The number of triplet or more births peaked in 1991 with 124. In recent years that number was between 40 and 50 per year. Last year you were most likely to have two or more babies at once if you were over 40 years old - 21 in one thousand of mothers in this age group had twins or more. The age group 35 to 40 years old came a close second with nearly 20 per thousand. Among 30- to 35-year-olds it was 17 per thousand. According to Statistics Netherlands, this trend can be attributed to a in-vitro fertilization (IVF). To increase the chance of success, four or five embryos are often implanted in IVF.