Babies are said to be the gift of god and is rightly so. Sometimes the happiness increases when parents have twins and that is what people do not really expect. A good observation which came forward in this aspect was that rate of twins taking birth has increased significantly over the last few years. The rate of birth of twins is almost 2% of the total population according to the data of 2013 (33.7 per 1000 births). However parents do not know much about having twins and have weird or different perceptions about twin children. Therefore in order to clear these misconceptions, we will tell you about some interesting facts about having twins which you may be surprised to know.
What is the chance of having twins?
Let us know by an expert about the birth of twins and expectancy. We spoke to Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Simran Yadav, to know about some facts about twin children. She told us that genetics play a huge role in having twins to a mother. Mothers that are over 30 have greater chances of releasing more than one egg at ovulation. Other factors such as height and diet also play a crucial role. Women that are taller have more insulin growth factor that increases the sensitivity towards the ovaries. Also those mothers that have consumed more dairy (around 5 times more than normal) are likely to conceive twins than a vegan mother.
10 Interesting Facts About Twins
1. It is not necessary to have distinguishable factor
Usually people think that having twins means to have identical children who have similar structure, birth marks, and moles, etc. However this is not true, there is no necessary condition that twins would have identical characteristics. They may have some differentiating characteristics as well such as toenails, colour or the presence of birth marks.
2. Twins start interacting in womb in 14 weeks
It is true that twins do have a special bond with each other, it may not be so as shown in pictures but connection is established in the early stages itself. Some twin children show signs of interaction in the womb of mothers. This can happen as early as 14 weeks of pregnancy and hence it makes them have that connection forever. However it is not necessary to establish relationship or bond in 14 weeks only, it can take some more time.
Also Read- How To Get Rid Of Hiccups In Newborns: Know Prevention Tips For Relief From Expert
3. Timing plays a significant role
In case of Identical twins, one egg splits in two parts after which fertilization takes place. But the timing of splitting of eggs determines if the twins will have their own sacs and placentas or will share those. There could be many variations depending on the timing of the split of eggs in the womb of the mother.
4. One twin can be getting more nutrition
There are strong chances that in case of identical twins, one child gets more nutrition than other. This happens because the placenta is shared by both of them and one has more blood volume than other. The phenomenon is called twin to twin transfusion syndrome. It can be very dangerous for health of either baby because it can cause malnutrition in one of both babies that could also lead to death. Fortunately treatments are available for this and frequent ultrasounds can help in detection of such cases.
5. Identical twins are nearly of the same DNA
Another very interesting fact about identical twins is that their DNA matches by almost 99.9% in most of the cases. This can lead to same brain patterns which thus cause same IQ generation and intelligence levels. But the fingerprints and teeth marks can still differ even after this.
6. Twins have high tendency to be left handed
If you may have noticed many twins are born to be left handed and thus their unique identity. Around 22% of the twins are born left handed whereas this rate is only 10% in the singletons. This is according to the natural tendency and positions; it can be transformed later by accumulating different habit which is not counted.
7. Twins may have different birthdays
Yes, it is possible. Our general perception about twins is that they are born on the same day with just a gap of few minutes. This is not necessary, there are many cases in which twins can be born ate two different days with a gap of few days or even weeks. According to the record, the latest interval between births of twins is of 87 days. However in most cases, it is usually few days at max.
Also Read- 8 Things Parents Should Know About Newborn Growth And Development
8. Twins can increase risk of pregnancy but that does not mean to have C-section
You might know that most of the people with twins are born after having a C-section. However this is not necessary nor is always needed. The babies are located one above the other hence vaginal birth is possible if the head of baby A is downwards. Once baby A is born, then the birth of baby B is not difficult in any position. However this is still done in an emergency room, because there might be an emergency need of C-section.
9. Weight of twins is less than singleton in majority of cases
On an average, the birth weight of twins is around 5.5 pounds. This may differ in every baby and twin, but most of the babies those are born twins have less weight than regular single child. A single child is mostly born with the weight of 7.7 pounds on average. But it does not mean twins are born unhealthy, they can be equally healthy as single children.
10. Twins can be Half Identical Also
Even though in most cases twins are identical and in some cases they are not. There is also a variation where the twins can be half identical. By this, we mean that in some exceptional cases, one egg splits and half of each egg is fertilized by different sperm. In this case, their DNA of babies will only be 75% shared. This also has an effect on their skills and functions as they grow.
Picture Credits- pexels.com
