How to Raise Your Chances of Having Twins

Natural Options

Maintain a healthy weight. Being underweight may decrease your likelihood of having twins. One study shows that a high body mass index, or BMI, may increase your chances of twinning, although experts aren’t quite sure why that is. As you try to get pregnant, be sure to eat a full, balanced diet to maintain your body weight. This particular study showed that having a BMI of 30+ influenced the rate of twins. If you are underweight, talk to your doctor about gaining weight in a healthy manner before trying to conceive.

Eat a lot of dairy. A few studies suggest that dairy may increase your likelihood of twinning, although they aren’t 100% conclusive. One particular study shows that women who consumed dairy were 5 times as likely to conceive twins than women who ate no animal products at all. This is most likely to to a protein that’s found in an animal’s liver called insulin-like growth factor, or IGF. Although these studies are not 100% conclusive, it won’t harm you to introduce more dairy into your diet as you try to get pregnant.

Take folic acid. Some studies suggest that folic acid increases your chances of having twins, while others suggest that it doesn’t. However, it won’t hurt to try, and folic acid is good for your unborn baby’s brain development. You can find supplements at most drugstores. Take them once a day while you attempt to conceive, but don’t take more than 1,000 mg per day to avoid upsetting your stomach. If you don’t want to take supplements, try eating foods that are high in folic acid, like asparagus, eggs, legumes, leafy greens, and citrus fruits.

Stop birth-control pills right before trying to conceive. One study suggests this may prompt the ovaries to release 2 eggs. When you make the decision to conceive, try to stop your hormonal birth control within a year of trying to get pregnant. Your body may overcompensate in an effort to re-regulate your hormones, and your ovaries could release 2 eggs instead of 1. This study is not 100% conclusive, but it can’t hurt to try. Releasing 2 eggs will most likely create fraternal twins, or non-identical twins. Identical twins are formed from the same egg, while fraternal twins are formed from 2 separate eggs.

Get pregnant with one baby first. Your chance of having twins goes up with every pregnancy. Although you might not get twins the first time around, you can increase your odds by getting pregnant multiple times. If you were already planning on having more than one pregnancy, you can stick with it and hope for the best.

Try to conceive when you’re in your 30s. Women in their 30s are more likely to get pregnant with twins. It has to do with an evolutionary response from your body—when you’re older, you’re less likely to have an abundance of children, so your body may attempt to create a viable twin pregnancy. Keep in mind, though, that older women are less likely to get pregnant than younger women. Having twins when you’re older is not a guarantee, it just makes the odds of twinning go up. If you are older than 40 and trying to conceive, talk to your doctor about your options.

Fertility Treatments

Ask your doctor about a medicine called Clomid. It’s a fertility drug that can increase your chances of having twins. It is normally used as a treatment for women who do not ovulate, and one of the side effects is a higher chance of conceiving twins. The drug works by encouraging the ovaries to drop more eggs in a cycle. Since Clomid helps your body release multiple eggs, using it may result in fraternal twins (non-identical twins). Clomid can result in triplets (or more!), so use caution if you just want twins.

Use gonadotropins. These are injectable fertility drugs that tell the ovaries to produce multiple eggs every month. Since the ovaries are producing more eggs than one, there is a higher chance of a twin pregnancy. Talk to your doctor to see if these drugs are right for you. Gonadotropins may result in triplets (or more). Using gonadotropins will increase your chances for fraternal, or non-identical, twins.

Talk to your doctor about IVF (In Vitro Fertilization). IVF increases your chances of having twins. The process of IVF involves a doctor collecting mature eggs and fertilizing them with sperm in a lab before implanting them in your uterus. IVF is normally used for infertility patients who are having trouble conceiving, so you can make an appointment with a fertility doctor to see if IVF is right for you. The average cost for one round of IVF is $12,000. Often, it takes multiple rounds of IVF for a viable pregnancy to take place.