Twin proneness among Igbo women attending a self-referral out-patient clinic in Enugu

Abstract

Aim: To study twinning among a selected group of Igbo women. Method: A retrospective study was carried out as regards 100 Igbo twin prone women attending the author's self-referral outpatient clinic situated in Enugu. Results: 91 women bore twins once, 6 delivered them twice, and the three remainders got them thrice. On distinguishing between the first, second, penultimate and last positions in the order of birth, the last situation preponderated. Worse fates awaited twins born in times past, some being killed avowedly. The parity varied from 4 to 12 with a mean of 8. The catchment population was mostly from Enugu town and Enugu State as a whole. Conclusions: Self-referral is an important aspect of the utilization of health services. Distance is a limiting factor, but satisfaction with the service rendered can ameliorate matters. Although there is familiarity about twinning, much remains unknown. Perhaps, establishing a National Twin Registry will become a very valuable research resource.

Keywords

• twinning
• igbo women
• clinic utilization