The recent trends in multiple births and stillbirth rates in Japan.

Abstract

The twinning rate remained nearly constant up to 1968, then decreased in 1974 and gradually increased with the year. The triplet birth rate remained nearly constant up to 1974, then increased up to 1982, where the rate was 1.8 times higher than in 1968, and decreased thereafter. On the other hand, the quadruplet birth rate remained nearly constant up to 1968, was eightfold in 1975, then decreased until 1984 and suddenly increased to 8 per million births in 1985. The higher multiple birth rates since 1974 was attributed to the higher proportion of mothers treated with ovulation-inducing hormones in Japan. The stillbirth rates decreased to 2/5 for male twins and to 1/3 for female twins during the 25-year period from 1960, to 2/5 for triplets and to 1/5 for quadruplets during the 34-year period from 1951.