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SALT LAKE CITY — Mothers of twins are often told they must have their hands full. But according to a new study, what they lack in free time now they make up for in longer lives.
A University of Utah report published this week finds that healthy and strong Utah frontier women had an increased chance of delivering twins and living longer than their singleton-bearing counterparts. What's more, mothers of twins experienced a longer span of fertility, had children in closer intervals and tended to be older at the time of their last birth.
The prevailing view is that the burden of childbearing on women is heavier when bearing twins. But we found the opposite: women who naturally bear twins in fact live longer and are actually more fertile." -Ken Smith, U. professor
#smith_quote
"The prevailing view is that the burden of childbearing on women is heavier when bearing twins. But we found the opposite: women who naturally bear twins in fact live longer and are actually more fertile," said Ken Smith, a professor of Family and Consumer Studies at the U., in a university statement.
Chelsea McKell of Bountiful said she isn't surprised by the results of the report, as she knows several healthy and strong mothers who also happen to have twins. McKell, mother of 9-month-old twins Bennett and Courtney, is a former collegiate runner won the 2004 Deseret News marathon and ran all through her pregnancy.
"Four of my former teammates have twins. ... They call it the 'BYU runner girl curse,'" she joked.
Researchers say it's not the twins that make women stronger or healthier, but rather a woman's "innate robustness" that enables them to have twins in the first place that predicts health later in life.
"Having twins will not make you stronger or healthier, but stronger, healthier women are more likely to have twins naturally," said Shannen Robson, a doctoral student in anthropology at the U, in a statement.
Smith and Robson worked on the study, which will be published Wednesday in the online journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Having twins will not make you stronger or healthier, but stronger, healthier women are more likely to have twins naturally.
–Shannen Robson, U. doctoral student in anthropology
#robson_quote
Because the researchers wanted to look at the occurrences of natural births of twins, the study was based on data from the 1800s, when birth control and fertility treatments weren't available. They also chose that era so they could evaluate longevity — something they couldn't have done with more recent numbers on living women.
They looked at Utah population data for nearly 59,000 non-polygamous Utah women born between 1807 and 1899 who lived at least to age 50 and whose husbands were alive while the women were fertile. Of those women, 4,603 were the mothers of twins. By looking at their age when they died, the researchers were able to compare their longevity.
While pregnancies and deliveries of multiples have a higher risk of complications, mothers born before 1870 who had twins had an annual risk of dying after they reached age 50 that was 7.6 percent lower than for mother of singletons, the study found.
"We are able to see that in these ancestral women because they had many children and had no fertility treatments. They have left a legacy through their descendants who may all share this desirable trait of being healthier," Smith said. "We're saying that women who twin naturally have something that makes them healthier."
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Motherhood Matters
For more stories on motherhood and parenting, check out our new "Motherhood Matters" section.Robson said that's exactly the opposite of what was expected, since researches anticipated having twins would be a burden during the hard, physical era the women lived.
She said the results could likely be applied to women of today, but the longevity aspect would be inconclusive.
The researchers were clear that their study doesn't address whether women who have twins after having fertility treatments will live longer.
"We're not encouraging women to actively seek having twins so they can live longer," said Smith. "It's not a conclusion we can draw."
McKell said that while the study didn't address it, she thinks mothers have to be adaptable and their strength increases through the process of having young kids close together. She said she knows of women with four singleton children all really close in age who are as active and healthy as any mom of twins.
"I don't know if we're that much different," she said."They have it even harder."
McKell said she is still in engrossed in the daily activities of the here and now as she attends to her young babies, but she does find the study's findings on longevity interesting.
"Most people's first thought would be, 'No that would take years away from your life,'" she said. "(But) if we can get through the first years of twins, we can get through anything."
Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
