Neonatal intensive care
Multiple-birth infants are usually admitted to neonatal intensive care immediately after being born. The records for all the triplet pregnancies managed and delivered from 1992 to 1996 were looked over to see what the neonatal statistics were. Kaufman found from reviewing these files that during a five-year period, 55 triplet pregnancies, which is 165 babies, were delivered. Of the 165 babies 149 were admitted to neonatal intensive care after the delivery. Society and culture
Insurance coverage
United States
A study by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that, in 2011, pregnant women covered by private insurance in the United States were older and more likely to have multiple gestation than women covered by Medicaid. Cultural aspects
Certain cultures consider multiple births a portent of either good or evil.Mayan culture saw twins as a blessing, and was fascinated by the idea of two bodies looking alike. The Mayans used to believe that twins were one soul that had fragmented.In Ancient Rome, the legend of the twin brothers who founded the city (Romulus and Remus) made the birth of twin boys a blessing, while twin girls were seen as an unlucky burden, since both would have to be provided with an expensive dowry at about the same time. In Greek mythology, fraternal twins Castor and Polydeuces, and Heracles and Iphicles, are sons of two different fathers. One of the twins (Polydeuces, Heracles) is the illegitimate son of the god Zeus; his brother is the son of their mothers mortal husband.
IVF is a common genetic and ethical topic. Through IVF individuals can produce offspring successfully when natural procreation is not viable. However, in vitro can become genetically specific and allow for the selection of particular genes or expressible traits to be dominantly present in the formed embryo. Ethical dilemmas arise when determining health care coverage and the deviation from natural selection and gene variations. In regards to multiple births different ethical concerns arise from the use of in vitro fertilization. Overall, multiple pregnancies can cause potential harm to the mother and children due to potential complications. Such complications can include uterine bleeding and children not receiving equal nutrients. IVF has also revealed some pre term deliveries and lower birth weights in babies. While some view medically assisted procreation as a saving grace to have children, others consider these procedure to be unnatural and costly to the community. Multifetal pregnancy reduction
Multifetal pregnancy reduction is the reduction of one or more embryos from the bearing woman. Selective reduction usually occurs for pregnancies assisted by assisted reproductive technology (ART). The first multifetal pregnancy reductions to occur in a clinical setting took place in the 1980s. The procedure aims to reduce pregnancies down to approximately one to two fetuses. The overarching purpose of the procedure is not primarily to simply terminate life, but to increase the survival and success of the mother and babies. However, multifetal pregnancy reduction raises some ethical questions. The main argument is similar to abortion ethics (Abortion debate) in reduction of fetus versus fetus life.