Is there a link between preterm birth in twins and gender? American and Canadian researchers set out to find the answer. Researchers in Ottawa and New Jersey looked at twin births and discovered that mothers having twin boys were more likely to have a preterm birth.
Until now, the bulk of research into preterm births has focused on factors in the mother that predict a greater risk of preterm birth. However, recent research into full term births has suggested the baby may be responsible for setting labor in motion, rather than mom. Animal studies have suggested fetal factors in preterm births as well.
The study looked at twin births in the United States between 1995 and 1997. The twins were divided into three groups: male-male, male-female and female-female, depending on the gender of the babies. The preterm births were categories at 28, 32 and 36 weeks for the age of gestation at birth.
Researchers found that the male-male group of twins had a higher rate of preterm birth than the other two gender combinations. In this study, the female-female twins had the second highest rate of prematurity at birth. The lowest risk for preterm birth was found to be in male-female twins.
This research may offer insight into preterm birth in twins. In all twin pregnancies, there is a higher risk of preterm birth and doctors monitor their patients carefully for signs of early labor. This information gives doctors one more tool in assessing risk in individual patients.
How this information will be used remains to be seen. Further research is needed in this area, as preterm birth rates have been increasing in industrialized nations around the world, including the U.S. Preterm birth offers significant risks to the baby, such as cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other long term health problems.
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