HONOLULU — Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children has seen a spate of twins in recent weeks.
Hospital spokeswoman Kristen Bonilla said five sets of twins were born in one 24-hour period in August and four sets in one 24-hour period in September.
She couldn’t explain the reason for the high incidence of twins, but said in an email that it “certainly made it exciting for our staff.”
Chad Bonstein, 37, became a new father after his wife, Desiree, gave birth to twins at Kapiolani on Sept. 10.
Bonstein’s son, Dorian Zane, entered the world at 12:19 p.m., weighing 4 pounds 12 ounces. Dorian was followed a minute later by his bigger sister, Cadence Xaria, who weighed 5 pounds 13 ounces.
Bonstein said last week by phone that the delivery went well and the babies were healthy.
“They’re depriving us of sleep,” he joked. “They’re blessings from heaven.”
Bonstein, a Kapolei resident, said he’s been enjoying the process of getting to know his children and parenthood. He said his babies are demanding, but precious miracles.
Dr. Thomas Kosasa, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Kapiolani, said the rate of multiple births has been increasing for 15 years because of in vitro fertility treatments.
Kosasa said by phone Saturday that doctors have been trying to reduce the rate of twins by implanting only one embryo instead of two as the success rate for the procedure has improved.
Some parents still request that he place two embryos because they want to start up their family in one go.
“They’ll talk me into putting two in,” he said.
He said singletons are preferred because giving birth to twins comes at a higher risk for the mother.
Kosasa estimated that about 10 sets of twins are born at the hospital every month and said it was unusual to hear of so many twins born in one day.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the birth rate for twins hit a national high in 2014, with a rate of 33.9 per 1,000 live births.
The rate dropped slightly in 2015 to 33.5 per 1,000 live births or about 133,200 out of 4 million births being twins. Data for 2016 is not yet available.
According to the nonprofit group Multiples of America, the birth rate for twins rose about 3 percent a year from 1980 to 2004, leading to a 76 percent increase from 1980 to 2010.
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