Famous Multiples of the 20th Century

The recent birth of Diana Krall's and Elvis Costello's twins made us wonder how many other twins have been in the spotlight over the last hundred years or so. We did some research, and the best source for such information turned out to be Wikipedia, which supplied the following details on Famous Multiples, broken into two categories -- Historical and Fictional Multiples: HISTORICAL MULTIPLES: The Keys quadruplets (born on June 4, 1915 in Hollis, Oklahoma), were the first same sex quadruplets known to survive to adulthood The Dionne quintuplets (born on May 28, 1934 near Corbeil, Ontario, Canada) were the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy The Creel Triplets - Leanna, Monica, and Joy born August 27, 1970 starred in Parent Trap 3, and Parent Trap 4: Hawaiian Honeymoon, two Disney made-for-TV movies The Haden Triplets born in New York City on October 11, 1971 were Petra, Tanya and Rachel The identical Hansen Quadruplets born in San Antonio, TX on October 24, 1974 were Alison, Brooke, Claire and Darcy. They appeared on the Johnny Carson show. They attended Baylor University on academic scholarships and graduated in 1997 The Rosenkowitz sextuplets (born on January 11, 1974 in Cape Town, South Africa) were the first sextuplets known to survive their infancy The Walton sextuplets (born on November 11, 1983 in Liverpool) were the first sextuplets born in the United Kingdom known to survive their infancy The Bergeson Triplets born in Baltimore, MD on October 17, 1984 were Ryan, Amy, and Jesse. The Frustaci septuplets (born on May 21, 1985) were the first septuplets to be born in the United States. Only three babies survived The Williams Quadruplets born at Duke Hospital on February 14, 1987 were Elizabeth, Christopher, Michael, and James The Dilley sextuplets (born on May 25, 1993 in Indianapolis) were the first surviving sextuplets to be born in the United States The McCaughey septuplets (born on November 19, 1997 in Des Moines, Iowa) were the world's first surviving set of septuplets The Humair septuplets (born on January 14, 1998 in Abha, Saudi Arabia) were the world's second surviving set of septuplets, born to a 40-year-old mother The Brino quadruplets were born on September 21, 1998 in Woodland Hills, California to Tony and Shawna Brino, and have all appeared in the popular television series 7th Heaven when they were infants as the twin boys born in season 3- when they all started to look different the only girl (Miranda) stopped appearing in the show, and Zachary and Lorenzo starred in the first episode they were credited in. From then on, only Nikolas and Lorenzo Brino starred in the show, and did through the show's last season, season 10 The Chukwu octuplets (born in December 1998 in Houston) were the first set of octuplets born in the United States. The smallest of the octuplets, Odera, died a week after birth The Qahtani septuplets (born on July 12, 2001 in Washington, DC) were the third set of septuplets to live past infancy The Armstrong triplets - Lil, Helen and Kate, were the first triplets to all be accepted to Cambridge University The Saunders Triplets played the baby Harry Potter in the 2001 film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" Labels: news

New Fertility Treatment Guidelines Released

The March of Dimes applauds new fertility treatment guidelines from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) calling for a limited number of embryos -- in some cases only one -- to be transferred during in-vitro fertilization procedures. "Limiting the number of transferred embryos will mean fewer higher-order multiple gestations, defined as three or more fetuses, and reduce the risk of complications for both the mother and the fetus, including preterm birth," said Dr. Nancy Green, March of Dimes medical director. "New parents may think there's more to love when you have more than one baby, but there's also more to worry about; more than half of twins and nearly all triplets are born prematurely, associated with an increased risk of death and disability." About 12.5 percent of U.S. babies are born too soon (before 37 completed weeks gestation) each year and babies who survive face risks of lifelong health challenges. The March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and ASRM issued a first-ever joint consumer document stressing the importance of reducing the risk of a preterm birth for women undergoing fertility treatments. More than one-third of pregnancies conceived using assisted reproductive therapies (transferring a fertilized egg into a uterus) result in a multiple birth. Pregnancies conceived using ovarian hyper-stimulation drugs, which accelerate egg production, often result in a multiple birth. Women considering these 'fertility drugs' should consult a specialist prior to using them. The March of Dimes also suggested additional steps, beyond the ASRM guidelines, to help women make informed decisions about fertility treatments: Require informed consent documents include explicit information about the risk of multiples and premature birth. Require annual review of clinics' performance and publish a list of those with highest and lowest rates of higher-order multiple births. "Consumers should demand quality assurance in the fertility business, just as they do in other aspects of health care," says Dr. Green. "Women should ask about a center's multiple birth rate, ensure it follows the guidelines and reports results to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology." Information is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/art.htm. Labels: news, science, studies

Taller Women More Likely to Have Multiples

If you're a taller-than-average woman in the US, you're more likely to experience multiple-birth pregnancies than women of average height. So concludes a study from the Journal of Reproductive Medicine published in September of 2006. The study, conducted by Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, of the Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center, found that the reason for the increased risk could be traced to Insulin-like growth factor (IGF), which influences both height and multiple births. A protien the liver releases in conjunction with growth hormones, Insulin-like growth factor (IGF), ups the sensitivity of ovaries to hormones that stiumulate follicles and increase the rate of multiple pregnancies. Dr. Steinman examined records of 129 women who bore identical or fraternal twins or triplets (105 sets of twins, 24 sets of triplets) comparing them to records of US women of average height, sourcing the National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple-birth mothers averaged 5'5", compared to the average US woman's height of 5'3". IGF also has been found to prompt cells in long bone shafts to grow. Other studies have found that people of lower-average height have lower levels of IGF. Additionally, IGF studies have concluded that elevated levels of IGF might assist in embryo survival during early gestation. Labels: news, studies