Wondering if you'll get your own pair of "Clomid twins"? From the way the media paints fertility drugs and multiples, it can seem that everyone taking Clomid is bound to have twins, but that's not really true. What are your chances of having twins if you take Clomid?
Generally speaking, Clomid causes twin pregnancies about 10% of the time, with less than 1% of Clomid pregnancies leading to triplets or higher order pregnancies. During clinical trials for Clomid, about 7% of pregnancies led to twins, about 0.5% of pregnancies led to triplets and 0.3% to quadruplets.
During the clinical trials of the twin pregnancies, 1 in 5 were identical twins, while 80% of the twin pregnancies were fraternal twins (not identical). (Identical twins come from one egg, not two.)
Some women ask their doctors to give them Clomid, not because they are having trouble getting pregnant, but just because they want to get pregnant with twins. There are risks that come with multiple pregnancies, though. You should think twice before purposely trying to get pregnant with twins.
While it's impossible to know who will get pregnant with twins while taking Clomid, and who won't, there are some factors that may hint to an increased chance of getting pregnant with twins. Using a higher dosage than necessary may increase the risk of having twins. (Ironically, though, using a higher dosage of Clomid than necessary may also decrease the chances of pregnancy occurring at all, because higher doses of Clomid can create thick cervical mucus.)
Also, women taking Clomid who do not have trouble ovulating or getting pregnant, as well as women younger than 25, may have an increased risk of getting pregnant with twins while taking Clomid.
Sources:
Clomid Drug Information Sheet. Sanofi-Aventis. Accessed October 6, 2008. http://products.sanofi-aventis.us/clomid/clomid.pdf
Complications and Problems Associated With Multiple Births: Fact Sheet. American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Accessed October 6, 2008. http://www.asrm.org/Patients/FactSheets/complications_multiplebirths.pdf
Medications for Inducing Ovulation: A Guide for Patients. American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Accessed October 6, 2008. http://www.asrm.org/Patients/patientbooklets/ovulation_drugs.pdf
