Multiple Births

HC Deb 29 June 1998 vol 315 c3W

Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many sets of(a) twins, (b) triplets, (c) quadruplets, (d) quintuplets and (e) sextuplets were

Type	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	11997
Sets of
(a) twins	267	315	258	308	303	324	311	327
(b) triplets	5	6	8	9	6	7	11	6
(c) quadruplets	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	1
(d) quintuplets	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
(e) sextuplets	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Maternities	26,338	26,050	25,425	24,729	24,119	23,663	24,398	24,057
1Provisional

With regard to the number of multiple births conceived as a result of IVF and other forms of infertility treatment, the information is as follows: In a period 1 August 1991¹ to 31 March 1996², there were 148 multiple births³ recorded in Northern Ireland following infertility treatment at the Royal Maternity Hospital (RMH), Belfast, the only clinic licensed to provide such treatment in Northern Ireland. ¹Date from which HFEA commenced keeping records ²Latest verified data available ³Figures have been provided by the HFEA, whose annual reports appear in the Commons Library. They are grossed up to ensure confidentiality