Retrospective Studies on the Twinning Rate in Scandinavia

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Abstract
The rates of human multiple maternities in the Nordic countries were studied from continuous series of data. In the Åland and Åboland archipelagos the parish records for births and baptisms since the 1650's were used. Various sources, some unpublished, in the archives of statistics were used for Sweden (since 1749) and Finland (since 1859) as a whole. Until recently, the rates of multizygotic multiple maternities in isolated island populations in the Åland and Åboland archipelagos have been some of the highest known among Whites (15-20‰). Highly significant temporal fluctuations in the twinning rates were noted. In Sweden, the twinning rate during the last part of 18th century was about twice as high as it was in 1966-70. The triplet and quadruplet rates were about three to four times as high as they are nowadays. There has been a secular decline in DZ twinning. This downward trend set in first in the isolated populations. In Sweden, it started in the 1930's, but in Finland, not until the 1960's. The steep downward trend in the twinning rates is shown to set in about one generation after the break-up of isolation. This can be interpreted as evidence that the changes in matrimonial migration patterns have affected the rates of DZ twinning.

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