Twins Soon After Discontinuing Birth Control?

Updated on March 02, 2008
C.B. asks from Riverside, PA
25 answers

SO I found out on Valentines Day that I am pregnant.Have any of you heard that if you get pregnant during your first ovulation after you stop birth control that it increases the risk of twins? My mom is a twin and and my other grandmother had a set of twins as well. So both set of grandparents had ATLEAST one set (my moms MOM had 2 sets I believe) anyway. I just seem to be gaining wieght fast and was curious if anyone has heard or experienced this... I never had a period since i stopped the pill last period was 12/17/08! I stopped the pill on 1/01/08
Please let me know (sorry its so long)
Thank you!

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T.T.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My sister ended up with twins soon after discontinuing her birth control pill, and twins did not run on either side of the family. I've read about this before, too. It's called the "rebound effect." My twin nieces are now beautiful 14 year old girls. Good luck to you!

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H.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

I became pregnant immediately after discontinuing my birth control, just like you. I was at a high risk for twins
1. I am Black
2. I am of advanced maternal age
3. I have twins in my family
4. My partner has twins in his family.
I had 1 - one beautiful son, 9 months later.

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J.I.

answers from Philadelphia on

That's great that you're pregnant! Just a quick side-note for anyone who may be on the pill though: the pill decreases your chance for getting pregnant but it doesn't ELIMINATE it. If you should ovulate and get pregnant, the pill also messes with "other" things and can make your uterus "unhospitable" for the implantation of your new little son or daughter, thus causing an abortion. Since you all sound like such caring moms, just thought you'd want to know that, b/c most Dr.s leave that very important part out!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

hello, by all means I don't think it increases your chance of having twins. Although twins run in your family(highly increase your chance of having twins) Not stopping the birth control doesn't. I am a twin, and in my family it skips every generation. So threfore my children have a high risk of having twins. Once twins run in families ( without using fertility help) twins will always run in that family tree.
M.

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S.K.

answers from Philadelphia on

Yes, I am a twin and my mom says that she got pregnant with my sister and I right after she went off the pill....within the first 2 months!!

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S.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

I've never heard of an increased chance of twins after stopping birth control. However, it sounds like they run in your family. Good luck either way, twins or a singleton.

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D.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

I think that it is more heredity than anything else. Usually when a woman is over 35 i have heard,increases her chance of having twins because you release more eggs during ovulation. Prime examples are Jennifer Lopez and Marcia Cross when you look at movie stars over 35. Sometimes, you may seem to get bigger faster because your abdominal muscles are stretched out. Make sure to eat right and drink plenty of water. IN any regards congratulations. I am sure you will find out when you go to have your first ultrasound. Take care of yourself.
D.

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J.J.

answers from Sharon on

I got pregnant with my daughter right after i stopped the pill.I stopped taking the pill on 21Sept 01 and got pregnant in October of that year.
I think with twins running in your family that a huge thing.I know i am a twin and it's my children who will have twins(lucky them)
But call your dr and congrats

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M.G.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I hadn't heard this about the pill, but I do know that the more pregnancies you have had and the older you are, the more likely you are to drop two eggs in any one cycle. Since you already have one child and that delivery was recent, it also seems likely that the same hormonal event that causes more than one egg to drop in people who have had several pregnancies would come into play here. I have four children (the last two are fraternal twins), and they are just one year younger than our second child. I delivered them when I was 41. I did not know I was carrying twins until I was 19-20 weeks pregnant. My first clue was that the OBGYN said that I was measuring "large for date" at my monthly appointment. I knew that my date was right; I had no doubt about that. I had the ultrasound 4 days later and confirmed that there were two babies. Since I had not lost all the weight from the previous pregnancy (she was just 3 months old when I got pregnant again...), I didn't think too much about my weight at the time. Incidentally, while I was completely in a panic at the thought of twins when I was 19-20 weeks pregnant, I had a very normal twin pregnancy, and they were full term and perfectly healthy when they were born at 39.5 weeks. Now I can't imagine our family without them!

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S.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have heard that you may be more likely to have multiples in the first cycle off the pill, but I don't know if it's true or not.

Are the twins in your family fraternal or identical? My understanding is that fraternal twins can have a genetic side (predisposition to release more than one egg at a time in the females) but that the chance of having identical twins is not genetically determined.

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W.F.

answers from York on

I have heard that! My gyno told me that the first time I went off the pill. But it sounds like you might be prone to having twins anyway with so many in your family! Good luck!

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L.T.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I am a twin - fraternal. My mother had been on birth control pills and got preganant with us immediately after stopping. She was told that the pills could cause twins. Now, since that was almost 40 years ago I don't know if that is outdated thinking or if the pill really can cause multiple births. There was a history of multiple births in my mother's family as well. You may have been destined to have twins regardless of the pill.

As far as the quick weight gain...I'd be sure to mention it to your ob. Congratulations on your news and best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

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K.W.

answers from Scranton on

Don't believe everything you hear. I have 2 adorable children 20 months apart, and twins run in the family. I only had 1 period after the birth of my son, so yes, I too conceived on the first ovulation, yeah!
My girlfriend was the same way. She actually has 2 singles and a set of twins. The twins were conceived 18 months after her second child and she was not using birth control (except condoms) between children.
They say that the chance of having twins increases with tge number of pregnancies you have, heredity and fertility drugs.
If you do have twins though, don't fret. At least your kids will have life long friends and you'll have great fun with them.
Best wishes and good luck with the pregnancy.

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B.A.

answers from Pittsburgh on

C.,

I think the fact that twins are in your family is more an increase risk of having a set of twins, than the discontinuation of birth control, especially if they are fraternal twins. Fraternal twins tend to be in families, while identical twins are just a random event.

Increased age (after 35 years) upon conception is another factor that increases the risk of having twins.

Good luck!

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H.S.

answers from York on

I have no Idea if you can have twins after discontinuing birth control but I do know that if twins runs in you family it is pretty likely you will have them. My Great aunt had triplets and then my aunt had twins. My sister may have had twins but we think she had a partial miscarrage.

B.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi C., Congrats!! I have never heard of that...I got pregnant the first time the day I went off the pill I think, since 9 months and 1 day later I had my oldest...LOL It is my understanding that the chances of twins run through families on the fathers side...but I could be wrong. My father-in-law is one of a set of faternal twins and there has only been one set of twins before or since (they were also faternal). It is also my understanding that twins will skip a generation. Tell your Ob about the twins in the family and you'll probably get an early ultra-sound so they can check. Get a copy of what to expect when your expecting (great book, they also have what to expect the first year & toddler years) and make sure your eating a healthy diet. Good luck and best wishes!!

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M.N.

answers from Philadelphia on

I have not heard of that, but if twins run in your family there is a chance that you may have twins one day.

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K.W.

answers from Scranton on

I would make a call to your doctor say you are wondering if there is a possibility they could do an U/S...Although from what I have been told twins come from the mans side, (this is just what I was told can't remember by who) I believe it's still possible =) Congrats on the pregnancy! I can't wait till hubby and I can start trying again! =)

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S.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

The pill does not increase the risk of having twins. Genetics does however increase the probability. And as another poster said, age also plays a role.
Weight gain right now does not necessarily mean twins either. The best way to find out is to go to your doctor. Good Luck!

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K.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

If you are having twins, it is most likely due to the fact that having twins is often hereditary. Since you seem to have several sets in your family, I would definitely bring up the possibility with your doctor.

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N.H.

answers from Bellingham on

I've never heard of that but I'll tell you my experience. When my first son was 10 1/2 months old I got my first period since he was born (had just stopped nursing). That was my only period as I got pregnant right away. When I was 8 weeks along I found out it was twins. I found out early enough so that I hadn't noticed anything different yet. Soon enough, though, I had much worse morning sickness and was packing on the weight much faster than the first time.

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D.D.

answers from Scranton on

My first question is are you sure you are pregnent? Just because you miss a cycle or two does not necessarily mean you are with child. Thew weight gain may be a matter of biochemical changes in the endrocrine system. Remember that "the pill" contains chemicals that are now absent from your body. Typical physiological responce to this condition is rapid weight gain. Plus you have crested the threshold for natural body adjustments. The human body operates in stages. Each stage is denoted by some physiological change, weight gain, poor vision or hearing, loss of appitite, loss of motivation, and so on. This is the bodys production method of adjusting to new environments and conditions. You say your 25. You are fully out of your primary physical and psycholgical development stages. Your body is setting you up for the long run between this stage and the breakdown stages. The missed periods could simply be a matter of stressors in your life that were not previously present, like thinking about the possability of having twins for one.

If you are pregnent(congratulations I hope), then your probability is definatly increased for having twins. This may or may not be the result of you stopping birth control. You are genetically marked as being predispositioned for twins. I do not know the statistical data about the correlation between ending chemical birth control and the increase of birthing twins. I do know this would be a very difficult thing to prove or disprove. Simple logic would tell me that this probably unlikly. As we all know twins develop at the cellular stage. Either two eggs are fertilized or a single egg splits. Becuase of this fact, this process is considered as an "Inherent Trait". Because you are predispositioned for twins (another inherent trait) if you do birth twins I would be more inclined to rely on that rather then the chemical changes in your body which would suggest that your genetic encoding has been altered. I base this theory on the twin birth rates before and after the inception of chemical birth control methods. The rate has changed very little over the span of human existance (or at least as long as records of such things have been kept). So long story short if you have twins blame your mom or your husbands/significant others mom lol.

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A.S.

answers from Allentown on

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Biologically speaking, there's no reasoning to support that twins are more likely the first cycle off of birth control. Twins run in your family so that gives you a higher chance of having them no matter when you conceive. I have twin boys who are 5 and it is all so amazing. Most moms gain weight faster with their second pregnancy, too. If you go to your doctor, they can give you a blood test and see if your levels are higher than they should be, which would indicate multiples. I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks where we could see that I had twins. Good luck!

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S.P.

answers from Scranton on

You definitely should make a doctors appointment.

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C.H.

answers from Allentown on

tend to gain weight faster and see stomach expanding faster with each pregnancy.

You do have twins running in your family and that would really be the thing most interesting.

Schedule appt with ob/gyn. Blood test would help tell and of course an ultrasound.

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