Twins in Massachusetts

There is something in the water.

There's something in the water in Massachusetts. I don't know what it is, but it's causing an explosion of twin and multiple births!

Recently the census showed that Massachusetts is the state with the most number of twins in the country followed by New Jersey and Connecticut. Everywhere you go, there are twins - supermarkets, stores, schools, and parks. I hardly go a day
when I don't see twins somewhere. I'm definitely in good company here.

Just how prevalent are twins and multiples in Massachusetts? According to a recent statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts has an average twin birth rate of 4.5 per every 100 live births. There are some towns in Masschusetts where the rate rises as high as 5.6. New Jersey and Connecticut are closely behind with 4.2 twin births for every
100 live births. The national rate is 3.2.

Besides some magical thing in the water, there are several real reasons why Massachusetts has a lot of twins. We know that there are factors that raise the chances of a woman conceiving twins such as the age of the woman upon conception. The older a woman is the more likely that she will either naturally conceive twins or need assisted reproductive technology to get pregnant.

Massachusetts has a relatively high average age at the time of marriage - for men the average age is 28 to 29 and for woman the average age is 27 to 28. Nationally the average age
for men to get married is 27 and for woman it is 25 (according to the US Census 2003). Interestingly, Connecticut and New Jersey, the other two states with a high number of twin births, also have an older average of people getting married. It seems that woman and men are waiting to get married until they are older here which increases their chances of conceiving twins.

Another possible reason for the increase in twin births in Massachusetts is the availablity of assisted reproductive technologies which also has been shown to increase a woman's chances of conceiving twins.

Not only does Massachusetts have a very large number of successful reproductive medical centers, but Massachusetts mandates that health insurance companies pay for fertility treatments including IVF, IUI, GIFT, ZIFT, and sperm and egg retrieval. New Jersey and Connecticut have a similiar insurance requirement.

Personally, in the past 3 years I've known many people in my state to get pregnant with twins both with assistance and without. It's always so fun for me to hear about someone else joining our ever growing multiples community, especially someone that I know already. It's certainly a special situation to be among so many twins in Massachusetts which will make it more likely that my twins will meet other twins.

Certainly there has also been an increase in the national number of twin and multiple births across the country as well - have you noticed that there are more and more twins and multiples being born in your state too? Do you think there are other factors that are causing this? Tell us below. I'd love to hear from you.