Day Thirty-Eight of Twinipedia:
Fact #38
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Day Seventeen of Twinipedia:
Looking to Conceive twins or multiples?
This is a really interesting fact. Did you know that there are fewer twin conceptions in the month of January, while there are more in the month of July?
This is a really interesting fact. Did you know that there are fewer twin conceptions in the month of January, while there are more in the month of July?
Why?
Researchers and scientists are not totally sure why this is the case but some believe that woman may have higher FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) levels in July than in January. They think this might be because there are longer daylight hours in the month of July and that this additional daylight exposure may have an effective on increased FSH levels in women which can increase egg production in that time frame.
WHO KNEW!
So I guess if you are looking to conceive twins, Fraternal twins that is since this scenary is about multiple eggs getting produced and fertilized, not a single egg splitting, July is your month!
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Day Sixteen of Twinipedia:
Fact #16
The rate of identical twinning is much higher in mothers that
are older.
The older you are, the higher your chances of having fraternal twins or higher-order multiples. A 2006 study found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women. Ironically, increasing levels of this hormone are a sign of failing ovaries and declining fertility. But FSH is also the hormone that causes an egg to ripen in preparation for ovulation each month, and women
with extra FSH may release more than one egg in a single
cycle. So while older women are statistically less likely
to get pregnant, if they do get pregnant, they're more
likely to have twins.
Source - http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-likelihood-of-having-twins-or-more_3575.bc
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365 Days of Twinipedia - Day 15
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Day Sixteen of Twinipedia:
Fact #16
The rate of identical twinning is much higher in mothers that
are older.
The older you are, the higher your chances of having fraternal twins or higher-order multiples. A 2006 study found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women. Ironically, increasing levels of this hormone are a sign of failing ovaries and declining fertility. But FSH is also the hormone that causes an egg to ripen in preparation for ovulation each month, and women
with extra FSH may release more than one egg in a single
cycle. So while older women are statistically less likely
to get pregnant, if they do get pregnant, they're more
likely to have twins.
Source - http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-likelihood-of-having-twins-or-more_3575.bc
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365 Days of Twinipedia - Day 15
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Day Sixteen of Twinipedia:
Fact #16
The rate of identical twinning is much higher in mothers that
are older.
The older you are, the higher your chances of having fraternal twins or higher-order multiples. A 2006 study found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women. Ironically, increasing levels of this hormone are a sign of failing ovaries and declining fertility. But FSH is also the hormone that causes an egg to ripen in preparation for ovulation each month, and women
with extra FSH may release more than one egg in a single
cycle. So while older women are statistically less likely
to get pregnant, if they do get pregnant, they're more
likely to have twins.
Source - http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-likelihood-of-having-twins-or-more_3575.bc
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365 Days of Twinipedia - Day 15
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Day Fifteen of Twinipedia:
Fact #15
Are Identical Twins Truly Identical
in Every Way?
"There are two main factors that cause
identical twins Not to be truly identical:
1. Identical twins share the same DNA -
but do not have identical DNA. When the
egg splits into two halves to form identical twins, the DNA may not divide equally between the
two cells. The basic concept is similar to when you cut an apple in half, the two halves may not look the same. DNA
differences of identical twins revolve around the
mitochondrial DNA (DNA that is not located in the nucleus of a cell). Mitochondrial is DNA passed on to the child by Mom. A fertilized
egg will have Mom's mitochondrial DNA, half of Mom's nuclear
DNA, and half of Dad's nuclear DNA. When the fertilized egg splits
into two, the twins will each have identical nuclear DNA, but not
EXACTLY identical mitochondrial DNA. Physical differences in
identical twins are contributed, in part, to how much and how similar
the mitochondrial DNA each twin inherited from Mom expresses
itself.
2. Environmental factors both prenatal (for instance, one twin having
more room in the womb, viruses, genetic missteps, Twin-to-Twin
Transfusion Syndrome, etc.) and after the babies are born (from
something as minor as appetite to illness or accidents). Prenatal
developmental differences can mean that one twin didn't quite "finish"
a developmental stage that his or her twin did. For instance, an
undescended testes is not uncommon in baby boys born early - about
50% of boys are born with an undescended testicle. In boy/boy twins
it is not uncommon for one boy to have one or both testicles
undescended, while his brother has both descended. It is also not
uncommon for one twin to have no physical problems, and his or her
twin having a heart or lung defect."
Source - http://baby.families.com/blog/ode-to-twins-and-supertwins-28-interesting-facts-about-multiples#
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Day Fourteen of Twinipedia:
Fact #14
How do Identical twins happen?
"Identical (or monozygotic) twins happen when a fertilized egg splits into two separate babies - usually within the first twelve days of Mom's pregnancy. After twelve days, the egg splits (between days 8 and 12), the more likely the twins will have similar characteristics since they had the additional time to lay "identical" genetic groundwork.
spontaneous and random occurrence. One theory is the egg ovulated by maternally mature women (Moms over 35) is not as flexible as it is in younger moms. When a fertilized egg begins its natural division process in creating a baby, the egg actual 'breaks' (or splits) into two instead of dividing."
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Day Thirteen of Twinipedia:
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| Shakespeare and his family |
Fact #13
William Shakespeare fathered a set of boy/girl twins. His twins names were Hamnet and Judith Shakespeare and they were born Nov 2, 1584. Sadly, on Aug 11, 1596, William's son, Hamnet, died from bubonic plague. He was only eleven years old.
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Day Twelve of Twinipedia:
Twins do not have to be born on the same dates. The longest gap between birth is 85 days.
Cases of longer distances between birth dates tend to come when one baby is born prematurely due to complications, while the other is left in the womb to develop further.
Additional fun facts from www.Twinpossible.com:
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| Darren & Kim Rugg were born 63 days apart! One twin was born very prematurely at only 25 weeks gestation, and the other’s labor was able to be stopped, for an additional 63 days, which is rare, but possible. |
"...Can twins have different birthdays? OF COURSE, especially if it’s close to midnight, on the day your twins are born, however, it’s possible to have twins born even days or weeks apart, especially, and most commonly, in the cases of pre-term labor, where the mother’s labor is halted, after the birth of the first twin.
Also, they can be born in different years…NO, not years apart really, but if it’s New year’s eve, then giving birth to two babies in two different years, is a definite possibility. One set of twins, Aaron and Luke Hegenberger, were born only 8 minutes apart, but were born in two different millenniums, back on New Year’s eve, then New Years day, the second twin came, making these twins born in different millenniums. How cool?..."
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Day Eleven of Twinipedia:
Fact #11:
The Yoruba tribe in Nigeria has the highest incidence of twinning in the entire world. Why? They believe it is because they eat lots of yams.
Background -
The Central African country of Benin produced the highest rate of twin: 27.9/1,000. While all of Central Africa has a higher than average twin rate (18/1,000), Benin reported even more twins! Like Nigeria, long recognized as a hotbed of twinning, Benin is home to many families from the Yoruba tribe. Some attribute their abundance of twins to diet; the Cassava, a type of yam, may induce hyperovulation.
Source - http://multiples.about.com/b/2011/10/17/who-has-the-most-twins.htm
Additional Information from Wikipedia-
The Central African country of Benin produced the highest rate of twin: 27.9/1,000. While all of Central Africa has a higher than average twin rate (18/1,000), Benin reported even more twins! Like Nigeria, long recognized as a hotbed of twinning, Benin is home to many families from the Yoruba tribe. Some attribute their abundance of twins to diet; the Cassava, a type of yam, may induce hyperovulation.
Source - http://multiples.about.com/b/2011/10/17/who-has-the-most-twins.htm
Additional Information from Wikipedia-
Twins in Yoruba society
Main article: Ibeji
The Yoruba present the highest dizygotic twinning rate in the world (4.4 % of all maternities).[21] Twins are very important for the Yoruba and they usually tend to give special names to each twin.[22]The first of the twins to be born is traditionally named Taiyewo or Tayewo, which means 'the first to taste the world', this is often shortened to Taiwo, Taiye or Taye. Kehinde, or Kenny for short, is the name of the last born twin. Kehinde is sometimes also referred to as Kehindegbegbon which is short for Omokehindegbegbon and means, 'the child that came last gets the rights of the eldest'.
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Day Ten of Twinipedia:
Fact #10:
Fraternal twins run in families. Identical twins are a fluke of nature. In fact, women who have conceived fraternal twins have an increased chance of doing so again!
My sister and I are Fraternal Twins. We also have twin nieces that are my older sister's daughters and who are also Fraternal Twins. So clearly this fact that Fraternal Twins run in families has been proven by our very fertile family - LOL.
Becca and I look extremely alike but definitely have some differences both in appearance and how we act. My nieces are polar opposites. They are 10 years old but one of them is taller than my 11 year old and the other is around the same height as my 8 year old. My taller niece Grace has blond, blond, blond straight hair and has gorgeous blue eyes. My other niece Tess has chocolate brown hair with banana curls galore and stunning green eyes. My nickname for them is Salt and Pepper.
Their personalities are just as different as their looks too and they add so much joy and laughter to our family. It's just a blast to experience the twin experience through these amazing little individuals.
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Day Nine of Twinipedia:
Fact #9
Fraternal twins are much more common than identical twins. The chance of having twins is about 1 in 285 births.
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Day Ten of Twinipedia:
Fact #10:
Fraternal twins run in families. Identical twins are a fluke of nature. In fact, women who have conceived fraternal twins have an increased chance of doing so again!
My sister and I are Fraternal Twins. We also have twin nieces that are my older sister's daughters and who are also Fraternal Twins. So clearly this fact that Fraternal Twins run in families has been proven by our very fertile family - LOL.
Becca and I look extremely alike but definitely have some differences both in appearance and how we act. My nieces are polar opposites. They are 10 years old but one of them is taller than my 11 year old and the other is around the same height as my 8 year old. My taller niece Grace has blond, blond, blond straight hair and has gorgeous blue eyes. My other niece Tess has chocolate brown hair with banana curls galore and stunning green eyes. My nickname for them is Salt and Pepper.
Day Nine of Twinipedia:
Fact #9
Fraternal twins are much more common than identical twins. The chance of having twins is about 1 in 285 births.
Day Eight of Twinipedia:
Fact #8:
Identical twins have almost identical brain wave patterns. They also can share very similar physical characteristics; for instance, if one twin's tooth doesn't grow in, his or her identical twin will most likely miss the tooth as well. Mirror twins are identical twins with mirror characteristics - one may have a dimple on the left side, and the other a dimple on the right side. Thus they look like they are looking in a mirror when looking at one another.
 Mirror twins: |
| Representative pair of female mirror twins. Twin A and twin B have been digitally overlapped. When digitally subtracted from each other, the image shows symmetrical “ghosting” consistent with anatomic mirroring of the pair’s skin findings. |
Sources...
http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2010/05/imhl1-1005.html
http://www.multipletreasures.com/facts-about-identical-twins.php
http://baby.families.com/blog/ode-to-twins-and-supertwins-28-interesting-facts-about-multiples#
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One amazing mom in Chile gave birth to the last of her 55 children in 1981. And in that mix of 55 kids, she gave birth to five sets of triplets (all boys). Talk about some tough pregnancies...WOW!!
And if the woman in Chile did not have enough children for ya', it was recorded in the 1700's that one woman in Russia gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quads!
Holy Bajeezzis!
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Day Five of Twinipedia:
Fact #5:
Did you know that where you live can help determine whether or not you conceive multiples? If you live in Massachusetts and Connecticut, twins are born there 25% more often than in the general populace.
But if you are trying to avoid a twin pregnancy, move to Hawaii. Their rate of twin births is 30% less than the rate in the rest of the nation.
Now if you are feeling a little daring and want triplets, Nebraska or New Jersey is the place to live. The rate of triplets in those two states is double that of the rest of the nation.
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Day Four of Twinipedia:
Fact #4:
There are SEVEN different types of twins:
- identical
- fraternal
- half or semi-identical
- mirror image twins
- mixed chromosome twins
- superfecundation
- superfetation.
To Read more about each type, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#Semi-identical_twins
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Day Three of Twinipedia:
Fact #3:
Who knew???
Both Elvis Presley and Liberace were twins? Their siblings died at birth.
Presley, Elvis Aaron and Jesse Garon - (born Jan. 8, 1935) - The King of Rock and Roll, Elvis was a music icon who was almost certainly one of the top-selling musicians of all-time alongside The Beatles, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. Elvis died on August 16, 1977. Jesse was his stillborn twin and Elvis was successfully delivered, approximately 35 minutes later. Several of Elvis' movies featured twins
Liberace, Walter - (born Wladziu (or Władziu) Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919 ) - Famous, flamboyant entertainer known strictly by his last name (Liberace) - twin died at birth. Liberace was matinee TV idol and among the best-selling pianists of all-time. He passed away on February 4, 1987 due to complications from AIDS
Some of the information provided, found at: http://www.twinstuff.com/twin-facts/151-famous-twins-music
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Day Two of Twinipedia:
Fact #2:
This is an interesting fact...Did you know that up to 22% of twins are left-handed. In the general populace, only 10% are left-handed.
Why?...
Here are some ideas explaining maybe why twins may be more likely to be left handed then the rest of the populace. This information was found in the article titled Right Handed or Left Handed -Twins and Hand Preference; Twins Can Be Right Handed or Left Handed or Perhaps One of Each By Pamela Prindle Fierro, at About.com Guide
...There are many theories as to why people display a preference for one hand over the other. One theory projects that position in the womb determines handedness. The ear that faces out of the womb receives the most input and stimulates development of the coordinating side of the brain. This would explain handedness in twins, since they're likely to lie in opposing directions in the womb.
On The Other Hand, While that's interesting, it doesn't fully satisfy the issue, because it doesn't hold true for all babies. Another theory also postulates that prenatal experience influences handedness, explaining that increased levels of testosterone exposure in the womb decreases development of the left hemisphere of the brain. That would explain the higher incidences of left handedness in males, but also among multiples, since hormone levels are increased during pregnancy with multiples.
Finally, one specialist offers an explanation for the handedness discordance among identical twins. In the July/August 2003 edition of Twins Magazine, Dr. Geoffrey Machin explains the phenomenon of mirror image twins, who most often display opposite hand preferences. He explains it in reference to how monozygotic twins split after conception.
"It is "likely that the split ... happen[s] so that the twins form side-by-side. This means that the twin-on-the-right has to hurry up and make a new left side, because the twin-on-the-left has taken it, and the other twin has to make a new right side. This is probably why one twin often has a dominant right brain and the other has a dominant left brain."...
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Day One of Twinipedia:
So we have decided to take on a new venture here at TwinswithTots.
We will be sharing interesting facts, videos and information about Twins each day for the next 365 days...Yes, that is right, over 1 year. And we are calling it 365 Days of Twinipedia...Ya' know like Wikipedia, since this collection of posts will eventually practically be like a go-to encyclopedia about twins after a full year of sharing.
We hope to find some really cool facts to share with you and our goal is not to miss a single day for the whole year...(Barring a natural disaster or something horrendous like that.)
So, here we go...Drum Roll Please!!!!!!!!!
Fact #1:
In this day and age, when fertility treatment is so much more common among couples who are trying to conceive a child, it is surprising to read that 56% of all twin births are spontaneous, meaning the couple did not use fertility drugs.
