Multiple Pregnancy: Does Eating Yam Boost Your Chances of Having Twins? (1 Interesting Fact to Know)

For a lot of women, having a multiple pregnancy or one set of triplets would be a dream come true. If you have tried a few times without success, then this right here is just what you need; here is a post showing how certain foods can boost your chances of having twins.

Twins are just so cute and adorable and most of us would love to have a set or two. Sadly, craving twins doesn’t automatically translate to having one as research shows that on average, each woman has a 3% chance of birthing twins in her lifetime.

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This figure might be quite low and very discouraging, but it doesn’t have to be this way as studies have found there are factors that can increase your chances of birthing twins or having other multiple pregnancy from this tears-inducing 3% and some of these include:

• If you’re above 40 years of age (being over 40 actually boosts your chances as much as 17%). For women 35-40 years and above, the ovaries most times release more than one egg during ovulation, which produces the increased chance.
• Being a woman with a Body Mass Index of 30 and above.
• Being a tall woman also boosts your chances of having twins. Apparently, there is some link between height and increased fertility and it is a positive one.
• Having twins in the family (research has found that you have a higher chance of birthing twins, especially if the twins births are predominant on the mother’s side).
• Having had previous pregnancies (haven had three or more pregnancies also boosts your chances of having twins).
• If you already have twins from a previous pregnancy. Your chances also increase if one or more of your previous pregnancies was a twin.
• Getting pregnant while on the pills. Although rare, women who fall pregnant while taking pills have also been reported of having a slightly higher chance of conceiving twins.
• Becoming pregnant immediately you go off the pills as your system goes through a hormone adjustment during this time.
• If you are a woman of African or African-American descent
• Eating a healthy diet (one that’s rich in nutrients, especially zinc) like green leafy veggies, eggs, fish, sweet potatoes, whole grains, yogurt, oysters, dairy, and cheese.
• Eating unconventional foods like tapioca and pineapple core. Regularly taking supplements like vitamins and folic acid.
• Taking herbs like maca roots which is known to improve fertility and also boost your chances of having twins.
• Taking certain medications like clomiphene, Femera, and gonadotrophins.
• Going through an IVF treatment. There’s a 30% chance of birthing twins or more through IVF, although these multiple pregnancies are likely to occur from multiple embryos introduced upon fertilization and resulting in fraternal twins, than a single cell splitting into two.
• If you happen to be a twin. Your chances of having twins increases if you are one pair of a twin yourself.

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Does Eating Yam Boost Your Chances of a Multiple Pregnancy?

Africa is known to have the highest rate of twin births and Benin in Central Africa takes the crown with 27.9 twins births per 1,000 births. Next to Benin is a town in Oyo state of Nigeria known as Igbo-Ora which has the highest rate of twin births.

With a twin in almost every home, this town sure knows a this or two about producing twins. It is believed indigenes of this town have yam as one of their staples, resulting in such high twin births.

This happens because yam contains phytoestrogen, an estrogen compound that boosts your Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), causing it to produce higher ovulation (or simply put, making you release more eggs to be fertilized during each ovulation cycle).

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Although this fact remains scientifically unproven, it seems to be working for the people of Igbo-Ora and you have absolutely nothing to lose by trying it.

If you try this but don’t get the desired results, you would still be consuming such beneficial nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin C, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium contained in this food.

Some other nutrient-dense foods known also to boost the chances of having a multiple pregnancy include dairies and vegetables.

Risks of Having Twins and Other Multiple Pregnancies

While twins are great to have, it is important to note that there are some risks involved in carrying a multiple pregnancy and these include:

• There’s a 12 times more chance of the babies being born prematurely as over 60% of all twin babies arrive before 37 weeks. Almost 60% of twins and other multiple pregnancies arrive before the 37th week, with 15% areiving as early as 32 week .However most usually have strong lungs and other developed organs to be termed healthy. One of the most common reasons for these early arrivals include intra-uterine growth restriction. Others include twin to twin transfusion syndrome, infection like chlamydia and gonorrhea, and otherr pregnancy-related complications
• There’s a 16 times more risk of babies having a low birth weight.
• For the mom, there’s an increased risk of developing certain pregnancy complications like gestational high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, anaemia, and pre-eclampsia.
• Babies of multiple pregnancies also have a higher risk of being born with or developing birth defects such as cerebral palsy, mental disabilities, heart-related issues, spinal Bifida, hearing loss or vision problems,s and gastrointestinal issues.
• Mothers also have a higher risk of birthing through a caesarian section.
• There’s also a high risk of postpartum bleeding due to the extremely distended uterus.