It's all about being first

doi:10.1136/bmj.39155.711400.43

BMJ 2007;334 (17 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39155.711400.43

Editor's Choice

US editor's choice

It's all about being first

Elizabeth Loder, research editor, Boston

eloder@bmj.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In the age-old competition among siblings, it's always beenadvantageous to be the first child. Firstborn sons, for example,may have special claims to family money, titles, or other assets.First children may get extra parental attention and time, andmay be more successful at school or work than their later bornsiblings. As it turns out, though, for twins it is not justlife's rewards but life itself that may hinge on being bornfirst. Gordon Smith and colleagues (doi: 10.1136/bmj.39118.483819.55)performed a retrospective cohort study of over 1300 twin pregnanciesin which one twin died and the other survived. For preterm infants,perinatal deaths were largely related to complications of prematurityand not birth order. For vaginal deliveries of twins at term,however, the second twin was at increased risk of death. Theauthors cautiously suggest that planned caesarean section fortwin deliveries might reduce this risk. . . . [Full text of this article]

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