Paging Twiniversity: How to Get Pregnant With Twins

I’ve heard more than one expecting mom hope for twins so that she could have multiple children without going through the stress of another pregnancy – more bang for your buck, so to speak.  To get to the bottom of how to get pregnant with twins naturally, I turned to Natalie Diaz, founder of Twiniversity, for her tips.

When you look around the mommyhood lately, everyone seems to have, or be expecting, a set of twins. From Sarah Jessica Parker to Jennifer Lopez, the world seems to be growing by two at a time. Heck, even Sookie Stackhouse and Vampire Bill have a pair! So the real question is… How do you get a set of your own?

Read closely, this mother of twins is going to let you in on the secret.

Shhhh, you have to promise not to tell.

Pinky promise?

Okay, here’s the scoop. If you eat seven strawberries right before doing the deed on the ninth day of a month ending with a “Y”, your odds of conceiving twins will be much greater. If that doesn’t work out for you, try two Cosmos while listening to an old Bee Gees album (band mates Robin and Maurice Gibb were twins!) and do it twice that night! Believe either one? Well, I’ve got a nice bridge to sell you, too!

Truth be told, there is nothing you can really do that will increase the odds of having twins. However, there are several theories why some women do get pregnant with a pair. We recently polled our Twiniversity members (all parents of twins of course) and here is what they had to say:

“I was on the pill, skipped two days and here are my identical girls nearly a year later!” April F.

April is not alone. Several Twiniversity members thought that their birth control was to blame. If you are taking birth control pills (or any medication for that matter) make sure you follow your doctors orders to a T. If you forget a birth control pill here or there, your body could go into overdrive and cause you have ovulate more than expected.

“Genetics. My brother and sister are fraternal twins.” Samantha W.

Yup, genes do play a factor in twinning. If you have family members with twins you might carry a gene for hyper ovulation, meaning your body likes to release more then one egg at a time. Just hope your body doesn’t release the floodgates or we may be looking at OctoMom Part 2!

“I had just finished breastfeeding our first and my cycles weren’t quite on track. I felt like I ovulated twice, pushed it to the back of my mind, and eight weeks later… The rest is history!” Beth E.  

Studies actually show that if you are currently breastfeeding a child, your chances of having twins will increase. It has to do with fluctuation of your hormones. After pregnancy it could take your body up to a year to regulate. While breastfeeding, your body is still a tad bit haywire, so you might lose a few extra eggs during ovulation! Beware, breastfeeding mommies!

“I was late 30’s. Pretty sure that’s why.” Michelle M

Michelle knows her stuff! If you are over the age of 35 and find out that you are expecting, there is a good chance there might be two. The older you get, the greater your odds. Think of it as Mother Nature trying to get as many babies out of you as she can in your lifetime. Ahh, tricky tricky Mother Nature.

Some other factors are:

If you have a high BMI (50+).

Studies show that if you are on the fluffier side of life, your odds of conceiving twins are greater because your hormones can occasionally be harder to regulate when you are carrying a few extra pounds.

If you are taller then average (5’5” and over).

Yup, once again, studies show that taller women get pregnant with twins more often. But unofficially, I’ll tell you that in my experience as a twin parenting educator, the moms who are on the vertically challenged end of the world carry their babies much longer. No study can prove it, but so many of my shorter moms go full term with their duo! I’m waiting for a hospital to take on that study.

If you eat yams daily.

Okay, you think I’m probably kidding, right? I’m actually not. There is a village in Nigeria that has a twinning rate of one in every twenty-two births. Some experts feel that it may be due to their diet, which consists largely of sweet potatoes. I kid you not! Hmm, I wonder if that’s why more women get pregnant with twins during the Thanksgiving holiday. Only kidding about the Thanksgiving thing, but I’m serious about the yams!

So if you are reading this because you really want to conceive twins, before you go packing on the pounds, skipping your birth control pills and competitively eating yams, consider this: be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.

Having twins is double the fun, but comes with a lot attached for you, your spouse and your babies. But good news, you now know me. If you see a second heartbeat on the screen during your sonogram, look us up and we will be here to help you out. Hey, that’s what we twin parents do!

Natalie Diaz, founder of Twiniversity.com, the world’s largest online support community for parents of twins, and author of “What To Do When You Are Having Two,” which will be on the shelves nationally in late Fall 2013. Natalie also teaches classes exclusively for expectant and new parents of twins, and speaks nationally on twin parenting issues. For more information visit www.Twiniversity.com  or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Twiniversity.

Tags: having multiples, how to conceive twins, pregnant with twins, twins