The facts about twins and triplets

Having a baby is an almost indescribable joy, and giving birth to twins or triplets should double or treble the joy. In the UK, the latest statistics report that there were 12,675 multiple births in 2012 up from 7,375 in 1984. This equals just under 16 multiple births per every 1000 births, this has increased by 72% since 1984. To put this in perspective, in 1984, 1 of every 94 births was a multiple birth. By 2012 this was down to 1 in every 65. According to www.twinsuk.co.uk, this increase is due to: • Growing birth rate - more births equals more multiple births • Maternal age - 'older' women (30+) as multiple births increase with age • Assisted reproduction - accessibility of IVF, ICSI, fertility drugs etc • Medical advances - more babies now survive, even very premature ones. Interestingly, the chance of giving birth to identical twins remains the same: 1 in 250. Giving birth to identical triplets is rare, which is one of the reasons that the 1 year old Gilbert sisters have recently made the news. These little bundles are so alike that the parents can only distinguish them by painting their toe-nails different colours. You might have seen them in TV series Casualty lately, trebling up to play a single baby in the drama. Stories about twins often hit the newsstands, usually for the right reasons. Tennis champ, Roger Federer, is the proud father of two sets of identical twins; Leo and Lenny were born earlier this year and it has just been announced that Richard Branson’s daughter Holly is expecting twins too. We know, however, that although giving birth to twins or triplets is well worth a celebration, there are downsides – just the logistics of looking after them can be such a major task. Have you seen the youtube video of a Norwegian Mum trying to get her twin toddlers to sleep? And then there’s the cost of special equipment and not being able to use hand-me-downs. One of the areas where having twins or triplets makes life easier is the Christening, Baptism or Naming Ceremony. You only need to organise one ceremony, so just one set of invitations, one hall booking and one buffet. To make it even easier for you The Card Gallery has designed a series of invitations and thank you cards especially to celebrate the birth of twins and triplets.