Twin pregnancies: incidence and outcome - Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital experience

A retrospective study of twin births at the Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, from January 1987 to December 1996 was carried out. There were 62 739 deliveries and 598 sets of twins. The incidence of twins was one in 105 maternities. The perinatal mortality rate was 46 per 1000 births compared with 12.3 per thousand for singletons. Premature delivery (<34 weeks) and very low birth weight infants (<1500 g) accounted for 12.5% and 8.7% of the twin deliveries respectively, but contributed to 60% and 63.6% of the total deaths respectively. Nineteen (3.2%) patients received no antenatal care, however, they contributed to 16.2% of the total deaths. This report represents our experience at the Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the management of twin pregnancies during a period of 10 years.