Many people ask me how I know the girls are fraternal (instead of identical). I always have told them that we have seen on the sonogram that there are two separate amniotic sacs, two umbilical cords, and two placentas. The gender of the babies was sort of irrelevant (they would be fraternal because of the aforementioned items).
However, in my research online, it seems that identical twins only share the same sac 1/3 of the time. So it is possible for them to be identical. The only way to know for sure is when they are born, to look at them, and if they look similar, to do a cheek swab test.
It doesn't really matter to me either way. I have a feeling they are fraternal, but I am not worried about it.
A funny note:
I saw on a twin blog that sometimes when parents of twins are out and about, they get a lot of attention from others. Many people want to know about the twins (are they identical, how was the birth, is it hard, etc.). One couple was walking their fraternal babies (girl and boy) when a stranger stopped them. They asked if the babies were identical and the mother responded that "no, they were fraternal because one was a boy and one was a girl." The stranger insisted that it was possible to have identical twins of the opposite sex despite the mother's explanation. The father's comeback was "in order for them to be identical, they have to be the same above AND below the waist." And then they walked off. I thought this was hilarious!
2 comments:
ROFL!!! Good answer.
That is funny. I've had conversations like that before, too, about twins. But, I realized that a number of people think that 'identical' only means that they look alike. They don't realize that it is a biological term for the same sac.
However, I can say this much..I have seen Identical twins that did not look identical; and I have seen fraternal twins that (almost) did! Now, how often does that happen?? I don't know..
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