General

Do you know one out of every 30 babies born is a twin? Thanks to older mothers (who naturally tend to have multiples), IVF, and fertility drugs, there are 1,009,337 extra twins now than in 1981. That’s a lot of double buggies! (The Atlantic)

A growing number of Chinese are turning to the US for surrogacy and egg donation. China bans surrogacy, as well as the country’s birth limits. NPR looks into it.

There was a rush to conceive children earlier this year — the Year of the Horse — which, according to the Chinese zodiac, is especially auspicious for boys.

People in 40 countries were asked if homosexuality is acceptable. Only 6% of Spaniards answered “Unacceptable”. Madrid will host the World Gay Pride event in 2017.

Image Credit: Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project

This week, Oregon will decide if same-sex couples will have the right to marry.

Here’s where we are now as a country:

Women are born with seven million eggs, which is reduced to 400,000 at puberty. In a woman’s lifetime, approximately 400-500 eggs will ovulate. Ovarian reserve declines as a woman ages, with egg supply taking a rapid decline in the late 20s and again in the 30s, particularly after 35. Pregnancy rates in the early 30s are 15 percent, then decline to 10 percent after 35 and 5 percent over 40.