Compared to other mothers, women who give birth to twins live longer, have more children than expected, carry babies at shorter intervals for longer, according to a University of Utah study.
The study's findings do not mean that twin pregnancies are healthier for women, but it does mean that healthier women have a greater chance of carrying twins, said Professor Ken R. Smith, study author and demographer.
"The prevailing attitude in society is that the burden of raising children when a woman carries twins is great, but in fact it is quite the opposite. Women who have a natural twin pregnancy, in fact, live longer and are actually more fertile," explains Smith.
They found that compared to mothers who gave birth to a single child, mothers of twins lived longer after menopause. Women who give birth to twins have more children than expected, simply because of the birth of twins. Mothers of twins have a shorter time between births.
Reproductive age - the difference between the number of years at the last birth and the number of years at the first birth - was longer for mothers of twins.
The twins' mothers were also older at the time of their last birth.
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