title: [Higher order multiple births in the course of time].
abstract: There has been an increase of multiple births since 1980. 601 families with multiples were interviewed. The answers from 289 mothers with multiples indicate, that, nowadays, in the majority of cases treatment with fertility drugs is the cause. Most of these pregnancies end too early. Moreover, the average time of gestation and the median birth weight of the children decline from year to year. The rate of dead or disabled children is high. Nevertheless, we know many happy families with healthy multiples. Nobody can predict the result of a multiple gestation. For this very reason, selective abortions are not the solution to the problem. Extreme caution is advised in the use of hormones to avoid inducing a pregnancy with higher order multiples.
authors.affiliation: ABC Club e. V., Darmstadt.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grützner
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grützner
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grützner
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D005860:Germany, West / Q000453:epidemiology; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple; D012307:Risk Factors
vernacular_title: Höhergradige Mehrlinge im Wandel der Zeit.