Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:22:07.811Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Twinning in New England in the 17th–19th Centuries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

T. Miura ,
H. Kawana  and
K. Nonaka
T. Miura*
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
H. Kawana
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
K. Nonaka
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
*
Department of Hygiene, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173, Japan

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Vital records of Saybrook and Plymouth in New England from the 17th century were investigated. Among 8,562 maternities 81 twin maternities were found, the twinning rate being 0.95%. Twinning rate was low at the lst and 2nd births as compared with the 3rd or later births, and was highest at the 7th and 8th births (1.6%). Twin maternity seemed to be a strong risk factor to terminate reproduction, particularly after 6 or more children had been delivered. The rate of mothers who had any other child (“fertile” mothers) at the 7th or later birth order was significantly lower for twin (13%) than for singleton maternities (63%). Twinning rate also varied by the size of offspring of a mother, and those mothers who had 5 or 6 children showed the highest twinning rate (1.3%). Those fertile mothers who had 7 or more children showed the lowest twinning rate (0.74%), although an exceptionally higher twinning rate was seen at their last births. Elongation of the last birth interval was observed for each group of every family size, and higher twinning rates were generally observed at their last births. Reduction in fecundity and rise in twinning rate seem to have occurred simultaneously at the last stage of the reproductive period of mothers, regardless of their family size.

Keywords

Twinning rateNew EnglandBirth orderFamily sizeBirth intervalParish recordsFecundity
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , July 1987 , pp. 355 - 364
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1987

References

REFERENCES

1.Allen, G (1978): The parity effect and fertility in mothers of twins. In Nance, WE (ed): Twin Research: Part B, Biology and Epidemiology. New York: Alan R Liss, pp. 89–97.Google Scholar
2.Allen, G (1981): The twinning and fertility paradox. In Gedda, L, Parisi, P, Nance, WE (eds): Twin Research 3: Part A, Twin Biology and Multiple Pregnancy. New York: Alan R Liss, pp. 1–13.Google Scholar
3.Bulmer, MG (1958): The effect of parental age, parity and duration of marriage on the twinning rate. Ann Hum Genet 23:454–458.Google Scholar
4.Burch, PRJ (1981): The age distribution of dizygotic twinning in humans and cattle: Etiologic implications. In Gedda, L, Parisi, P, Nance, WE (eds): Twin Research 3: Part A, Twin Biology and Multiple Pregnancy. New York: Alan R Liss, pp 115–122.Google Scholar
5. Connecticut Historical Society and the Connecticut Society of the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (1952): Vital records of Saybrook 1647-1834, Hartford, Connecticut.Google Scholar
6.Eaton, JW, Mayer, AJ (1953): The social biology of very high fertility among the Hutterites - The demography of a unique population. Hum Biol 25:206–264.Google ScholarPubMed
7.Hémon, D, Berger, C, Lazar, P (1979): The etiology of human dizygotic twinning with special reference to spontaneous abortions. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 28:253–258.Google Scholar
8.Holbrook, JM (1984) Massachusetts vital records to 1850 ff Plymouth 1663---1890 Plymouth town book for births, marriages and burials. Holbrook Research Institute, Oxford, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
9.Miura, T, Nakamura, I, Shimura, M, Nonaka, K, Amau, Y (1984): Twinning rate by month of mother's birth in Japan. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 33:125–130.Google ScholarPubMed
10.Mosteller, M, Townsend, JI, Corey, LA, Nance, WE (1981): Twinning rates in Virginia: Secular trends and the effects of maternal age and parity. In Gedda, L, Parisi, P, Nance, WE (eds): Twin Research 3: Part A, Twin Biology and Multiple Pregnancy. New York: Alan R Liss, pp. 57–69.Google Scholar
11.Nylander, PPS (1975): Factors which influence twinning rates. In MacGillivray, I, Nylander, PPS, Corney, G (eds): Human Multiple Reproduction. London: WB Saunders.Google Scholar
12.Nylander, PPS (1978): Causes of high twinning frequencies in Nigeria. In Nance, WE (eds): Twin Research: Part B, Biology and Epidemiology. New York: Alan R Liss, pp. 35–43.Google Scholar
13.Wyshak, G (1981): Reproductive and menstrual characteristics of mothers of multiple births and mothers of singletons only: A discriminant analysis. In Gedda, L, Parisi, P, Nance, WE (eds): Twin Research 3: Part A, Twin Biology and Multiple Pregnancy. New York: Alan R Liss, pp. 95–105.Google Scholar