DOUBLE TAKE

Allison Filer, left, and her twin sister, Rebecca Filer, laughed together in their Jackson home.

All Joann Hardesty prayed for was a way to make her second pregnancy special. She got two -- identical twins Nick and Tony.

Hardesty is among tens of thousands of mothers who are giving birth to twins, triplets and even quadruplets. The numbers keep rising. Just a few years ago, the chances of giving birth to twins was one in 85 births. The chances have risen to one in 40 births, and may continue to rise.

The increase in multiple births can be linked to several factors. Baby boomers are waiting until later in life to have children. Women ages 35 to 39 are 10 times more likely to have than teenage mothers even without conception-aiding drugs.

New fertility drugs and in vitro procedures increase the chances for multiple births by another 50 to 200 percent. And doctors are more successful in bringing multiple-birth pregnancies to successful deliveries.

For Hardesty, twins guaranteed that her second pregnancy was a whole new experience. She didn't use fertility drugs to aid conception.

"I knew I was pregnant and I prayed that God make it special. I have an older son and I was worried that I wouldn't feel the same love for the second baby," Joann recalled. At 10 weeks, she learned that she was carrying twins. "I never thought anything negative. It was always a positive thing," she said. "Twins are one sure way to fill your life."

One of the dangers of a multiple birth pregnancy is early delivery. Hardesty went into labor during her seventh month of pregnancy. "I was at my checkup and I was in labor and didn't know it," she said. Her doctor attempted to stop the labor, but her water broke. The boys were delivered at 28 weeks. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.

She recalled the nurse holding 2 pound 6 ounce Tony, cupped in her hands, before whisking him to the nursery. Nick weighed 3 pounds 6 ounces. After a seven-week hospital stay, the twins came home, weighing in at about 4 pounds each.

Today Tony and Nick are 4 years old. Their brother, Kevin, is 9. "Needless to say, we don't do much that isn't family," Hardesty said. "And we can't go anywhere without attracting a lot of attention."

Weeks after moving to Cape Girardeau, Hardesty's husband, Keith, went away for two months for job training, leaving her in a new town with 6-month-old twins and a 5-year-old. A neighbor once told her that he heard all that loud crying coming from her house and thought "That poor woman." Hardesty said, "I went home wondering how loud I'm crying. But I believe God doesn't give you more than you can handle."

She packed up the three children and made a shopping cart train as she bought groceries. She also took the children to the park, where she met several other mothers of twins. They encouraged Hardesty to join an organization called Southeast Mothers of Multiples. The local chapter was started by Lori Reinegal, mother of 6-year-old triplets in Kelso.

"They are a great support group," Hardesty said. "We share experiences and learn from each other."

When Hardesty attended her first meeting just a couple years ago, membership included just six or eight mothers. The group has more than doubled its size and attracts members from throughout the region. A newsletter, edited by Debbie Barrier in Sikeston has helped generate interest in the organization.

Barrier is mother of 10-year-old boy-girl twins, Cori and Christopher. She also has three younger children, ages 7, 5 and 4.

"I was on fertility drugs, Clomid, for four months before I got pregnant," Barrier said. Her doctor told Barrier that only an 8 percent chance existed that she would get pregnant with twins. "He said it wouldn't happen. He was wrong," Barrier said. She didn't use conception-aiding drugs with her other pregnancies.

"It was kind of a scary thought," Barrier said. "But when we had our first ultrasound to confirm the twins, we were handed a card for a twins club. That was in Lubbock, Texas. I've been in a twins club ever since."

Twins always have a friend to play with, but sometimes twins are very competitive with each other. "I find that they don't fight as much as the other kids. They are close and they take up for each other and look out for each other," Barrier said.

As twins grow, new challenges face parents, like how to split time between class parties and how to keep homework straight. Organization is the key, said Barrier.

Mary Jo Filer of Jackson agrees. Her identical twin girls, Allison and Rebecca, are 8 months old. The Filers have two older children, ages 4 and 2. "We have to be organized," Filer said.

Diapers are stacked in precisely the same order. Becky gets blue rings on her bottle and Ali gets white. A chart tracks who has eaten and who has had a bath. Rarely does Filer dress Becky and Ali alike. It is tough to tell them apart from across the room, but Becky has a small birthmark so there is no danger of an accidental swap.

Filer, a former retail personnel manager, said one thing her twins have taught her is to ask for and accept help. "I used to be fiercely independent," she said. "But now I need help."

Her in-laws live next door. Her parents and sister live across town. They all take turns helping out. As a result, Filer said, "It's really not that tough."

The toughest part with infants is night-time tag teaming. One baby wakes up, gets fed, goes back to bed, and the other baby wakes up. It can continue for hours.

"We did break down and get a mini van," Filer said. "We could fit four car seats and one adult in the car."

Filer wasn't using fertility drugs when the twins were conceived. "I was in the waiting room for a three-month ultrasound and saw all the brochures, including one for Mothers of Multiples. Good thing I don't need that, I thought," Filer said. As she left the ultrasound, she headed straight for the waiting room to get a brochure. "It's fun and a good diversion," she said. "It's also informational."

The next meeting is Sept. 21 at 9 a.m. at the Oncology Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.