What you need to know about Identical Twins.

 

Twins are two babies who have shared the same womb at the same time. They may also have come from the same egg. Thanks to the advances in fertility and science, there are more twins today than any other time in history. In fact, according to the CDC, in 2017, 33 out of every 1,000 births in the United States were twins. There are many rare types of twin pregnancies known until this day. However, Identical and fraternal twins are the most common type. In this post, I am going to talk specifically about Identical twins, and everything you need to know about it. Ultrasound images are included in this post as well.

Twin births are becoming more and more common due to several factors such as:

• Increasing use of fertility treatments. Many procedures or treatments rely on stimulating the ovaries with fertility drugs to produce eggs and, often, several eggs are released during ovulation.
• Child births at an older age. Women in their 30s and 40s have higher levels of the hormone estrogen compared to a younger age, which means that their ovaries are stimulated to produce more than one egg at a time.
• Genetic factors. A woman is more likely to conceive twins if she is a twin, or has already twins in the family.
• Certain ethnic groups are also found to have a greater twin population. Example Black African women have the highest incidence of twins, while Asian women have the lowest.
• One in every 250 births in the world could be an identical twin birth.
• Number of previous twin pregnancies, the greater the number of twin pregnancies a woman has already had, the higher her odds of conceiving twins again.
• Higher body mass index (BMI): A BMI above 25 is associated with an increased probability of having twins.

How Identical Twins are formed?

Identical twins are also known as monozygotic twins. They are from a single egg that forms a single zygote that splits into two embryos. Two fetuses emerge from the two embryos in the same womb. The exact reason for this splitting hasn’t been identified yet.

Sometimes, identical twins also share the same amniotic fluid, making them monoamniotic. Otherwise, they are diamniotic. Twins sharing the same placenta are monochorionic. Those who don’t are dichorionic (fraternal twins for example). This happens only in the case of identical twins. All monoamniotic twins are also monochorionic. This depends on the stage at which the zygote divides.

Twins that occur at:

• The earliest stages would result in diamniotic and dichorionic twins.
• Four to twelve days after fertilization results in monochorionic-diamniotic and monochorionic-monoamniotic, respectively.
• Twelve days post-fertilization may result in conjoined twins. Conjoined twins are attached to each other at some place. They may be more dependent on each other physically.

Most common identical twins complications.

Since identical twins share the same sac, amniotic fluid, and placenta, there could be some complications in pregnancy.

• These could be a result of the entanglement of the umbilical cords or twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome because of the shared placenta. This may cause one or both the babies to be underdeveloped.

Other medical risks during any twin pregnancy to keep in mind.

More important facts about Identical twins.

• Identical twins are generally of the same sex.
• They have more likely identical DNA and shared genes.
• They may be very similar to each other, almost like mirror images.
• Some twins can be told apart only by their fingerprints, teeth, handwriting, or any other intricate observations. However, they have individually different personalities and character traits.
• Twins are generally emotionally attached to each other and are also believed to live longer because of this attachment. Some people even believe that identical twins have their own language through which only the two of them can communicate.
• Some identical twins are also mirror twins they are exact mirror images of each other. About one-fourth of all identical twins are mirror twins. Sometimes, one mirror twin may have a condition where some or all the internal body organs will be on the opposite side of the body. However, these are considered to be birth defects and are extremely rare.

 

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Related posts you might be interested:

What To Expect From A Twin Pregnancy.

Twin pregnancy, twin pregnancy ultrasound.

Things to avoid for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Final thoughts about Identical Twins.

As you probably know, pregnancy is a wonderful time in the life of any woman. However, a multiple pregnancy comes with many challenges that you must face. With the timely and necessary help of trained doctors and the respective tests, everything should go well. I hope this article has been very helpful for you.

Zadi, xo.

Disclaimer: The medical information on this post is for educational and entertainment use only. Under no circumstances, this information is to replace your doctor’s advice or to treat any disease. For proper care, always visit your doctor.