The number and rate of twins born in the U.S. plunged during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic after women lost access to fertility treatments during quarantines, according to new federal data.
The number of twin births dropped by 7% from 120,291 in 2019 to 112,437 in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The rate fell by 3% from 32.1 to 31.1 twin births for every 1,000 births over the same period, according to a report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The number previously declined by an annual average of 2% from 2014 to 2019, the CDC said.