Fraternal twins tend to live longer than singletons. But identical twins generally outlive fraternal ones.
Longer lives
When analyzing the data by gender, the researchers found that female identical twins lived, on average, about 63.4 years, whereas female fraternal twins lived about 61.4 years and the general Danish female population lived about 58.8 years, Sharrow said.
They're also more likely to have health problems later in life, like high blood pressure. More than half of twins and nearly all higher order multiples weigh less than they should at birth.
In the majority of vaginal births, Baby A is born first. But occasionally the twins switch positions at the last minute, and Baby B emerges first, as further noted by the Stanford Medicine News Center.
It is inferred that superfecundation by the same man is relatively common and that therefore dizygotic twins quite often have different gestational ages.
According to Guinness World Records, the longest confirmed interval between the birth of twins is 90 days. Fraternal twins Molly and Benjamin West were born on Jan. 1 and March 30, 1996, in Baltimore.
The authors of the study believe the reason twins live longer may be because of the social support they provide each other, and the psychological and health benefits that come with that social connection. "There is benefit to having someone who is socially close to you who is looking out for you," Sharrow said.
A twinless twin, or lone twin, is a person whose twin has died. Twinless twins around the world unite through organizations and online groups to share support and the status as a twinless twin.
The hardest thing about having twins is...
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
Compared with singletons, monochorionic twins have a 13-fold increased risk of stillbirth and dichorionic twins a five-fold increased risk. Twin pregnancies account for almost 6% of all stillbirths, 18% of neonatal deaths (NND) and 20% of preterm births (many of which occur <28 weeks' gestation).
Monoamniotic twins are always monozygotic. The survival rate for monoamniotic twins is somewhere between 50% to 60%. Monoamniotic twins, as with diamniotic monochorionic twins, have a risk of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Also, the two umbilical cords have an increased chance of being tangled around the babies.
A little more than half of twin pregnancies end in preterm delivery (before 37 weeks). While 40 weeks is the full gestation period of the average pregnancy, most twin pregnancies are delivered at approximately 36 weeks (range 32-38 weeks depending on the type of twin pregnancy).
High parity – Having one or more previous pregnancies, especially a multiple pregnancy, increases the chances of having multiples. Race – African-American women are more likely to have twins than any other race. Asian and Native Americans have the lowest twinning rates.
Twins, on average, come out sooner — and smaller — than singletons. Your womb may be a cozy place, but it can get crowded in a hurry as they grow. That's why full-term for twins is considered 38 weeks, not the typical 40 weeks.
It's equally unsurprising that a Danish study found that twins are less likely to get married than non-twins. As twins have a partner from birth, the study suggests that they may not have the same desire for marriage as singletons.
Identical twins reported similar levels of happiness, while fraternal twins exhibited greater variation in their reported sense of well-being. These results were found in families of twins raised together and extended with twins reared apart.
The Dutch Twins are Kit and Kat, 5 years old and not yet big enough to be called by their real names, Christopher and Katrina. They live in a typical Dutch household, around the turn of the last century. The book follows their day-to-day adventures and accidental mishaps.
What is it? 'Mirror image' is a type of identical twinning. It can happen in any type of identical twins. When the split occurs late - more than a week after conception - the twins can develop reverse asymmetric features. This term is not really a type of twin, just a way to describe their physical features.