Multiple Birth Statistics UK 2009 (2011)

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These are the recently released statistics on Multiple Births in the UK for 2009 obtained from the Office of National Statistics, General Registry Office Scotland and GRO Northern Ireland ((Released Jan 2011)

Multiple Births Statistics for the United Kingdom

	1984	2004	2005	2006	2009
Total Maternities	726,295	709,316	715,556	741,067	789,134
Twins (Sets)	7,255	10,455	10,533	11,165	12,565
Triplets (Sets)	93	163	159	149	162
Quads+(Sets)	5	5	2	7	6
Total M/Births	7,353	10,623	10,694	11,321	12,733
No. Children	14,809	21,419	21,551	11,640	25,640

Twinning Rate

10.1

14.9

15.3

16.2

Maternities %: Twins 98.68% Triplets 1.27% Quads+ 0.05%

% Birth Population: 3.25%

Source: Office of National Statistics, General Registry Office Scotland and GRO Northern Ireland

(Latest Data Issued Nov 2010)

Twinning Rate

The no. of multiple births per 1000 maternities is known as the twinning rate and generally includes all multiple births (twins, triplets, quads and higher). In the UK, the twinning rate has risen from 9.6 per 1000 births (1980) to 16.1 (2009) increasing on average 4% per year. In the 24 years from 1980-2004, multiple births have increased by 56% and in the last 5 years by 20%. Since the introduction of new rules on embryo transfer, triplets have declined.

Chances of Multiple Pregnancy

In 2009, 1 in every 62 maternities was a multiple pregnancy, or put another way, 1 in every 30 children born is a twin, triplet or quadruplet. The health risks for both mother and babies are significantly higher in multiple pregnancies and births, with premature labour and low-birth weight being the key concerns. Full term for twins is 37 weeks, triplets 34 weeks and quads 32 weeks but around 50% of twins and 90% of triplets+ will be born early.