Wondering about conceiving twins and what you can do to help the process? Some factors are out of your hands -- primarily whether or not you have a family history of twins and have inherited the tendency to bear twins.
While twins are generally a matter of chance or genetics, there are a few things you can do to possibly increase your chance of conceiving and carrying a twin pregnancy.

1. Eat a healthy diet that includes milk and dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt, and red meat.
   According to research, women with dairy- and meat-based diets are more likely to conceive and give birth to twins than vegetarian women or those who eat dairy products only occasionally.
   
2. Have a little extra fat on your body to increase your BMI.
   Women who are slightly over their ideal weight and have a higher fat percentage in their body increase their likelihood of bearing twins.
   So do women who are taller than average, by the way, but that's not something you can affect.
   
3. Before conceiving, and during early months of your pregnancy, take a double dose of folate (folic acid) daily.
   Women who take folic acid before getting pregnant and continue it through the first trimester are more likely to give birth to twins than those who do not take the supplement.
   
4. Continue to breastfeed your baby or toddler while trying to conceive twins.
   Or, get pregnant the cycle you come off the birth control pill.
   Fluctuating hormone levels in these two scenarios increase the likelihood that you will conceive twins.
   Many twin mamas report that they were breastfeeding another baby or just starting to wean when they got pregnant with twins.
   
5. Have more than four children.
   Women who have given birth to four or more children are more likely to have twins than first- or second-time mamas (though it sometimes happens for young, new mothers too!)
6. Continue having children in your late 30's or early 40's, when a higher percentage of women have twins due to their age.
   

Of course, twins are both a wonderful blessing (considered almost sacred in some cultures) but also require hard work, and often prove tiring to raise, especially in infancy when the demands for feeding, diaper changing, and holding from two babies overwhelms many twin mothers.
Talk to friends or family members who have had twins -- spend a day with a twin mom of infants -- and think about whether you truly want to conceive twins or are simply enamored with the idea of sweet matching dresses, two toddling baby boys, and the happy moments of having twins.
Don't underestimate the challenges that lie ahead if you are able to have twins naturally.