*The overall rate of twin births in the US is 1 in 30. Looks like the chances of Samantha and Amelia having some twin friends at school is pretty high!
*The chances of having identical twins naturally (without fertility treatments) is .4% (1/250 births) Guess we got lucky!
*From 1980-2009, the rate of twin births in the US increased by 76%.
*Identical twins (monozygotic) result when a single fertilized egg splits after conception. The resulting twins are the same sex and genetically alike, with similar foot and hand prints, but different fingerprints and teeth marks.
*People always ask me if twins run in the family, and they do, on Jake’s side. One of his sisters has one set of fraternal girl twins and another sister has TWO sets of fraternal boy twins. None of that matters though, because A. Any predisposition to having twins comes from the mother’s side (I don’t have any twins on my side of the family) and B. As far as science can tell, identical twins are the result of a random split of a single egg and cannot be genetically predisposed.
*Samantha and Amelia were mo-di twins. That means the zygote split between 4-8 days after conception, resulting in a shared placenta, but two different amniotic sacs. The official term is “monochorionic diamniotic twins.”
*Because Samantha and Amelia shared a placenta, they were at risk for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, which occurs with 15-20% of mo-di twins. TTTS can develop when one twin receives more nutrients and blood supply from the shared placenta than the other twin. Samantha and Amelia were watched very closely the entire pregnancy to make sure they were both receiving adequate blood supply and nutrients and thankfully, they never developed TTTS, even though Amelia was always a pound smaller than Samantha. If TTTS does occur, they have some pretty cool procedures where a surgeon goes in and rearranges some of the blood vessels supplying the placenta with a laser…I’m so glad I never had to deal with it.
*The average length of a twin pregnancy is 36 weeks. Samantha and Amelia were born at 36 weeks exactly.
*The average birth weight for a twin is 5 lbs 5 oz. Samantha and Amelia were both over this number!
*About 35% of twins are left-handed, double the rate of the general population. We think Amelia might be left-handed.
*Children of identical twins are genetically half siblings.
*If identical twins marry identical twins, their children will legally be cousins, but genetically will be full siblings.
*Doctors examining 3D ultrasound images in Italy found twins deliberately interacting at 14 weeks.
*40% of twins invent their own language. Samantha and Amelia are definitely in the process of fine-tuning their exclusive twinspeak!
There you have it. Twin facts you can use to impress your friends!
Lots of love,
I know I'm impressed, that's awesome!!