Question: Twins. Twins are often born after a pregnancy that lasts less than 9 months. The graph from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows the rate of preterm twin births in the United States over the past 20 years. In this study, JAMA categorized mothers by the level of prenatal medical care they received: inadequate, adequate, or intensive.
a) Describe the overall trend in preterm twin births.
b) Describe any differences you see in this trend, depending on the level of prenatal medical care the mother received.
c) Should expectant mothers be advised to cut back on the level of medical care they seek in the hope of avoiding preterm births? Explain.
Preterm Birth Rate per 100 live twin births among U.S. twins by intensive, adequate, and less than adequate prenatal care utilization, 1981-1997. (JAMA 284[2000]: 335-341)