Is Having Twin Babies Like Beyoncé Really a Trend?

Ever since Beyoncé announced her baby news times two on Instagram to her 92 million followers, the 35-year-old pop star has received more than 8 million likes on her baby-bump post.

However, Mrs. Jay Z has not just become the queen of social media with her news — she has also become part of what some refer to as the twinning trend.

“I would say that it does seem to be on the rise,” Christine Carlan Greves, MD, an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Fla., tells Yahoo Beauty.

According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, there are more multiple births — whether twins, triplets, or high-order births — than ever before. In fact, race and ethnicity also factor in the equation, since multiple births were found to be most common among black mothers.

Greves says it is happening more frequently due to the advancements in medicine; for example, assisted reproductive technology (ART), which includes common fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, and third-party ART (i.e., sperm and/or egg donation).

“Also, more women are taking certain medications to try to enhance their ability to ovulate and get pregnant,” continues Greves. She refers to the fertility drug Clomid, a treatment that causes the pituitary gland to release hormones needed to stimulate ovulation. “Clomid alone can increase the risks of twins up to eight percent.”

And Queen Bey will discover that a twin pregnancy isn’t quite the same as a singleton. “It’s a lot more work, meaning more frequent doctor visits, because she is going to be considered high-risk,” states Greves. “So not only would she need to see her regular ob-gyn but also the high-risk team.”

Ultrasounds will become a semiregular routine over the coming months as well. “In a typical, low-risk singleton pregnancy, a woman would have an ultrasound in the first trimester around 11 weeks or so, called a nuchal translucency test,” she says. “Then she would have an anatomy ultrasound around 18 to 20 weeks, and that’s all.”

However, women carrying twins will have an ultrasound “at least every month after she’s 24 weeks — and sometimes sooner — because it’s important to make sure that both babies are growing appropriately and that one baby isn’t bigger than the other.”

Also, twins tend to make their grand entrance earlier than their expected due date. “Doctors [calculate] the due date as they would a singleton, but the likelihood of that happening is very low.”

For now, the mom-to-be needs to be in tune with the signals her body is giving her.

“During pregnancy, it’s very important to listen to your body,” concludes Greves. “If she is feeling more tired — which she may because there is a higher chance of her being anemic [an iron deficiency] — then she’s going to need more rest.”

But unless she’s instructed otherwise by her physicians, Greves says, “she should still continue with her regular activities.”

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