For mothers, risks arising from multiple pregnancies range from the less serious to the life-threatening.
A number of pregnancy complications (hypertension, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes etc) may mean an early admission to hospital for the last weeks of pregnancy and that the birth may have to be induced early.
There is a 1/25,000 risk of maternal mortality during singleton pregnancy or birth versus 2/25,000 risk of maternal mortality during twin pregnancy or birth.
Following the success of the regional workshops that were held over the summer in the UK, an additional workshop is now being held on 11 December in London on the importance of accelerating the reduction in multiple births.