Is Having Twin Babies, Like George and Amal, the New Thing?

George and Amal Clooney – the seemingly blissfully married actor and international human rights lawyer – are, like Beyoncé and Jay Z, reportedly expecting two bundles of joy. Yes, twins.

It would appear the twinning trend is confirmed, no?

“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., told Yahoo Beauty for an earlier story.

According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, there are more multiple births — whether twins, triplets, or higher-order births — than ever before. In fact, race and ethnicity also factor into 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).

These first-time parents are in for a handful. “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.”

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

Read This Next: Here’s What It’s Like to Give Birth to Triplets

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