When it comes to being a twin mom, I get all sorts of questions and comments from people about twins. There seems to be a lot of misconceptions and a simple lack of knowledge about multiples and so, I use this public outlet to spread the knowledge about the basic difference between fraternal and identical twins.
Identical Twins
Identical Twins ARE NOT a result of any hereditary factors. Anyone can have identical twins. It is here that the question "Do twins run in your family?" has no bearing on a mom who has identical twins. Simply put, identical twins occur when a single egg is fertilized and spontaneously divides in half, becoming two separate embryos. This is why identical twins are always the same sex (although, there has been new research done that indicates it is possible in very rare cases that identical twins could be opposite sex, however I won't go down that road. It's safe to assume that if twins are boy/girl they are not identical).
Fraternal Twins
Fraternal Twins ARE a result of a hereditary factor. Most women produce one egg per cycle, but women with hyperovulation (sometimes called the "twin gene") produce more than one egg per cycle. If two eggs are fertilized during a cycle, twins are created. This is what happened with myself. It is possible I passed hyperovulation on to my daughters. It makes sense to ask me if twins run in my family, because they do, and the "twin gene" (hyperovulation) was passed down to me from my mother, grandmother (who had fraternal twin sisters) and so on. Because it is a gene carried by women, the father has no control over producing twins. So even if my husband has twins on his side of the family, it doesn't play a role in twin production.
Myth: Twins do not skip a generation.
Fact: Because fraternal twins are created when two separate eggs are fertilized, they are no more genetically similar than brothers and sisters born at different times.
Fact: Fraternal twins can be conceived at different times during a cycle and even have different fathers!
And mine are awake! So I have to go. There's your twin lesson for the day.
2 comments:
Amen! One of my 'pet peeves'! And from what I've read, your daughters, being fraternal twins have a 1 in 17 chance of having twins themselves. Diet, age, weight (being over weight increases your chances) also all affect your chances of having twins.
Your girls are fraternal? They look so much alike! My boys are also fraternal, but my husband is an identical twin and I have ID twin brothers. Whenever someone tells me we shouldn't have been surprised to have twins, I give the same explanation you did here!
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