Twin births boom in China as more women take fertility drugs

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The number of twin births is rising rapidly across China as more women take fertility drugs, often in order to circumvent the nation's stern population policies, state media reports.

At the Maternal and Child Hygiene Hospital in east China's Nanjing city, 90 sets of twins and triplets were born last year, compared with usually just 20 sets annually, the China Daily reported.

"More women are taking fertility medicine to help them become pregnant," Gu Ling, the hospital's director, told the paper.

The trend, which has also been observed in other major Chinese cities, is boosted by well-off urban couples who wish to get around the government's one-child policy, according to the paper.

Many fertility drugs are linked to multiple births, as they stimulate a woman's ovaries, causing the release of more than one egg.

Medical experts in China warned there could be major negative consequences for society and for the individual mothers if the drugs are not taken correctly.

"Mothers bearing twins may suffer from premature delivery and other problems," said Gu.

"And the abnormality rate of these children is very high, so we are very cautious about prescribing these drugs."

Nevertheless, many pharmacies in cities like Nanjing are reported to sell the drugs indiscriminately, rarely asking to see a prescription.

"The only way to control the sale is by forcing chemists to ask for prescriptions before selling the drugs," said an official with the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Health.

China launched its one-child policy a generation ago, and the government says the nation would have 400 million more people today if it had not done so.

Despite the success in reining in population growth, many foreign critics have argued the human cost has been too high, in the form of forced sterilizations, late-term abortions and even infanticide.

A longer-term cost is also in terms of a skewed sex ratio, as many couples limited to have one child opt for a boy, aborting the fetus if it is a girl.

Q.V.http://asia.news.yahoo.com