Very interesting.

Many predicted last year that there would be a baby boom in 2021 due to the lockdown. According to Irish maternity hospitals across the country there has indeed been an increase in births this year but there has been an increase in something else too... …...twins. [caption id="attachment_249610" align="aligncenter" width="594"] NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 14: (L-R) Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen attend the J.Mendel Spring 2012 Fashion Show at Lincoln Center on September 14, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for J.Mendel)[/caption] Yes, according to a recent study, the number of sets of twins being born is currently at an all-time high. A paper published in the scientific journal Human Reproduction revealed that more than 1.6 million twins are now being born every year. Speaking about the study, Professor Christiaan Monden, of the University of Oxford said;

"The relative and absolute numbers of twins in the world are higher than they have ever been since the mid-twentieth century and this is likely to be an all-time high."

[caption id="attachment_233996" align="aligncenter" width="470"] NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 24: (L-R)Dylan and Cole Sprouse attend The 2014 Tribeca Film Festival After Party Of Gia Coppola's Palo Alto, Hosted By Farfetch At Up&Down on April 24, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Donald Bowers/Getty Images for 2014 Tribeca Film Festival)[/caption] The scientists behind the study believe that one reason for the increase may be reproductive treatments like IVF. The research was gathered over several years, all across the world, with Africa being the continent with the highest number of twins being born. In the paper researchers go on to say that the record number was solely driven by births of "fraternal twins" which derive from two separate fertilised eggs. On the other hand the number of identical twins, known as monozygotes, has remained the same. We'll have to see in the future if the current pandemic has any affect on these results.