How To Raise Your Chances Of Having Twins....Winks

Many couples trying to conceive hope to have twins. Their reasons vary, from ensuring that their child has a close sibling through childhood to simply wanting a large family. Experts say there are some steps women can take to increase their chances of having twins. Diet, ethnicity, genetics and lifestyle all play a role in whether a woman is more apt to have twins. If you want to raise your chances of having twins, follow these guidelines.
1) Consult a fertility specialist. The most effective way to increase your chances of having twins is to undergo a fertility procedure. Specialists can prescribe medications or perform in vitro fertilization techniques that can virtually assure a multiple pregnancy.

2) Change your diet. Experts believe that certain foods raise a woman's chances of having twins.

• Dairy: A study conducted by a leading fertility specialist found that women who consume dairy products during the time frame they're trying to conceive increase their chances of having twins by as much as 5 times over women who avoid such foods. Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF), which is produced in the livers of cows, is believed to be the chemical instigator in this phenomenon.
• Wild yams: An African tribe [Yoruba] whose diet is rich in wild yams boasts a twin birth rate 4 times higher than the global average. Nutrients in the vegetable are believed to stimulate the ovaries into producing more than 1 egg during ovulation.
• Folic acid: Women who add a dietary supplement containing folic acid are 40 percent more likely to conceive twins, a recent study found. The supplement also helps reduce certain birth defects.

3) Alter your lifestyle. By making some changes in your lifestyle, you can increase your chances of having a multiple pregnancy. Some of these changes can affect your overall health, so they should be done under the care of a physician.
Weight gain: Studies show that overweight women are more apt to have twins than women of optimum weight. Also, taller women are found to have an increased likelihood of conceiving twins.

• Breastfeeding: If you're currently breastfeeding, continue to do so during the time frame you're trying to conceive twins. This increases your chances by 9 times.
• Birth-control pill: When women first stop taking the pill, their bodies work furiously to re-regulate their hormones. During the first month or 2 after getting off the pill, ramped up ovaries sometimes release 2 eggs.
• Multiple pregnancies: Women who become pregnant 4 times or more during their lifetimes raise the odds that they will conceive twins.

4) Assess your genetic predisposition for conceiving twins. Many other factors, including age and heredity, play significant roles in the possibility of a woman having twins.
Maternal family history: If there are fraternal twins on the woman's side of the family, there is an increased possibility that she will bear twins. Identical twins are not thought to be hereditary.

• Age: Women 45 and older are 17 percent more likely to have twins than younger women. This is due to the body producing higher levels of Follicle Stimulating Hormone. FSH can produce more than 1 egg during ovulation.
• Ethnicity: Women of African descent have twins at a higher rate than Caucasian women. Asian and Hispanic women are least likely to have twins.