Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep 18;19(1):337.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-019-2498-x.

Maternal complications in twin pregnancies in Finland during 1987-2014: a retrospective study

Annu-Riikka S Rissanen  1 , Riina M Jernman  2 , Mika Gissler  3   4 , Irmeli Nupponen  5 , Mika E Nuutila  2
Affiliations

Maternal complications in twin pregnancies in Finland during 1987-2014: a retrospective study

Annu-Riikka S Rissanen et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: To investigate the trends and changes in the incidence and overall outcome of twin pregnancies in Finland, a retrospective study was conducted with emphasis on maternal complications, covering a 28-year study period.

Methods: All 23,498 twin pregnancies with 46,363 live born and 633 stillborn children in Finland during 1987-2014 were included in the study. Data were collected from the national Medical Birth Register and the Care Register on Hospital Care (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland) regarding the parturients' characteristics and incidences of several pregnancy and childbirth complications. The incidences of twin pregnancies and maternal complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the main outcome measures of the study. The results are expressed in percentages, means, medians, ranges and standard deviations (SD), when appropriate.

Results: Twins comprised 1.4% of all births in Finland in 1987-2014. Parturients' mean age has remained stable, but the share of over 35 year-old parturients is increasing. The incidences of pre-eclampsia, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, gestational diabetes and postpartum haemorrhage have risen during the study period. Almost half (44.9%) of twins were born preterm, almost half via Caesarean section (47.1%), and 27.7% of twin labours were induced.

Conclusions: Several pregnancy complications increased during the study period. Advanced maternal age among twin parturients has risen, enhancing the risks for developing complications in a pregnancy already of a high-risk category, and predisposing to preterm delivery. National and international guidelines are necessary to improve the overall outcome of twin pregnancies.

Keywords: Multiple pregnancy; Register data; Twins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The number of spontaneous and artificial reproductive technology-induced twin births in Finland during 1987–2014. Data on ART-induced twin pregnancies is available from 1990 onwards, reported per year
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The shares of twin and singleton parturients over 35 years during 1987–2014. The data is presented at three-year intervals
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The changes in the incidences of pregnancy complications in twin pregnancies in Finland during 1996–2014. Information on pregnancy induced hypertension is available from 2004, data on other complications from 1996 onwards. The bars represent percentage of twin pregnancies with respective pregnancy complications
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sibai BM, Hauth J, Caritis S, Lindheimer MD, MacPherson C, Klebanoff M, et al. Hypertensive disorders in twin versus singleton gestations. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2000;182:938–942. doi: 10.1016/S0002-9378(00)70350-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Siddiqui F, McEwan A. Twins. Obstet Gynaecol Reprod Med. 2007;17:289–295. doi: 10.1016/j.ogrm.2007.07.011. - DOI
    1. Buhling KJ, Henrich W, Starr E, Lubke M, Bertram S, Siebert G, et al. Risk for gestational diabetes and hypertension for women with twin pregnancy compared to singleton pregnancy. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2003;269:33–36. doi: 10.1007/s00404-003-0483-z. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rauh-Hain JA, Rana S, Tamez H, Wang A, Cohen B, Cohen A, et al. Risk for developing gestational diabetes in women with twin pregnancies. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2009;22:293–299. doi: 10.1080/14767050802663194. - DOI - PubMed
    1. National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health (UK) Multiple pregnancy: the management of twin and triplet pregnancies in the antenatal period. London: RCOG Press; 2011. - PubMed

MeSH terms