Just like singleton babies, twins can sometimes get super-active in the womb. But not to worry — there's no real threat from it! Babies can kick or even hit each other (yes, really) in utero, but the good news is the amniotic fluid acts as a cushion to protect them from actually getting hurt by any of it.
Fraternal Twins in the Womb
They grow in separate amniotic sacs and have separate placentas. They cannot physically reach out to each other, but they can feel each other in the womb and give each other some nudge.
In some instances, the dead twin is compressed into a flattened, parchment-like state known as fetus papyraceus. Vanishing twins occur in up to one of every eight multifetus pregnancies and may not even be known in most cases.
Just like singleton babies, twins can sometimes get super-active in the womb. But not to worry — there's no real threat from it! Babies can kick or even hit each other (yes, really) in utero, but the good news is the amniotic fluid acts as a cushion to protect them from actually getting hurt by any of it.
The quick answer to this question is that, in a twin pregnancy, it is the mother's genes that determine twins. First up, giving birth to identical twins is not genetic, but conceiving fraternal twins is. The mother may have the genetic trait of releasing two eggs in one menstrual cycle.
What happens when one twin absorbs another? The vanishing twin's tissue gets absorbed by the surviving embryo(s) and the parent, too. This absorption process is completely harmless.
The results suggest that twin fetuses are aware of their counterparts in the womb, that they prefer to interact with them, and that they respond to them in special ways. Contact between them appeared to be planned—not an accidental outcome of spatial proximity, says study co-author Cristina Becchio of Turin.
For women born 1870-1899, moms of twins averaged reproductive spans of 14 years 11 months versus 14 years for singleton moms. Both results were statistically significant. Moms of twins also were older at the time of their last birth.
Monoamniotic-monochorionic Twins
These types of twins share a chorion, placenta, and an amniotic sac. This is the rarest type of twin, and it means a riskier pregnancy as the babies can get tangled in their own umbilical cords.
For twins, overcoming disappointments in your twin can be difficult and even brutal. Just as all twins love each other, all twins fight. These fights begin by six months of age and continue on and on. Some disagreements are healthy, normal, and expectable.
It is estimated that 1 in 250 natural pregnancies will naturally result in twins. While twin pregnancies can happen by chance, there are some factors that may increase your odds of having two babies at the same time. Let's learn about twins!
Identical twins share a particularly intense bond. They are the result of one fertilized egg splitting into two, giving them identical DNA. (Fraternal twins are the result of two separate, genetically different fertilized eggs.) As a result, identical twins are as close as two people can be.
It is likely that twins' awareness of one another starts sooner than seven or eight months of age. An article by the late doctor, T. Berry Brazelton, observed that at age three to four months, an infant identical female twin seemed disoriented when her sister was removed from the room.
Fortunately telling twins apart is one fear that can be taken off the list. Most parents find that mixing up their babies is the least of their concerns. After only a few hours or days at most, they are distinguishable as individuals. Even if they look alike, parents just know the difference.
Chimerism occurs when a woman is pregnant with twins and one embryo dies, and the other embryo absorbs the twin's cells. (Scientifically speaking, this type of chimerism is called tetragametic because the baby was derived from four gametes – one egg and one sperm for each embryo.)
The biggest difference in heart rate between a pair of twins was found between 6 and 7 weeks of pregnancy. Later in pregnancy, up to 11+6 weeks the difference was similar and remained low. The mean heart rate (beats/min.)
Vanishing twin syndrome is a type of miscarriage. It's also called disappearing twin syndrome, and it happens when there's a loss of one baby in a multiple pregnancy. Usually it occurs early in pregnancy and involves the loss of one twin, while the other twin survives.
People over 30, and particularly those over age 35, are more likely to conceive twins. 4 This is because the level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) rises as birthing parents get older. FSH is responsible for the development of eggs in the ovaries before they are released.
The longest interval between the birth of twins is 90 days, in the case of Molly and Benjamin West, dizygotic (fraternal) twins born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA to parents Lesa and David West (all USA) on 1 January and 30 March 1996.
Fraternal twins, however, are particularly competitive and sometimes given to intense jealousy. Their rivalry is intensified because each twin has entirely different poten tials and abilities. The I.Q. span of fraternal twins is similar to that of any two children in the same family.
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.
Being a twin has its benefits—tricking people, having a lifelong companion, sharing clothes—but it also has downsides. Many twins struggle to cultivate their own identities, while being so similar to one another. And that struggle lasts a lifetime, according to a recent study.
A big reason for all those twins is an increase in medically assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization, ovarian stimulation and artificial insemination. Another reason is that women in many countries are having babies at older ages.
About one third of all twins are born vaginally and the process is similar to that of giving birth to a single baby. If you're planning a vaginal delivery, it's usually recommended that you have an epidural for pain relief.
There is a clear and long-established connection, from these studies and much more, that multiples are at a significantly increased risk of developing cerebral palsy than singletons. Many factors at work may make the children of multiple pregnancies more vulnerable to the brain damage that causes the condition.