Pandemic lockdowns linked to decline in U.S. twin births, study suggests

FILE PHOTO: Sets of twins ride on tandem bicycles in New York's Central Park, July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

(Reuters) - Reduced access to infertility treatments early in the pandemic may have contributed to a drop in twin births, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest.

The number of twin births fell 7% between 2019 and 2020 - from 120,291 to 112,437 - compared to an average 2%-per-year decline from 2014 to 2019, researchers reported on Wednesday in the CDC's National Vital Statistics Reports, based on data from 50 states and the District of Columbia.