Thread: I'm prepared to get laughed at... How do you make twins!?

I was told by my OB/GYN that twins run in families. If a woman has twins in her family her chance of having twins is greatly increased. I asked him this because I have a cousin who has 2 that's right 2 sets of triplets (no fertility drugs, she is just a fertile Myrtle!). Whether they are identical or fraternal is just a strange twist of fate. It has something to do with how the egg splits. (I am so not a physicist, so I can't completely explain it!)

I am sure there are some websites that can explain it better, but I am not sure where they are!

This is from WebMd. Hope it helps

Identical twins, also called maternal or monozygous twins, develop from the same fertilized egg and the same sperm. The fertilized egg splits in two identical portions very early in pregnancy, usually within eight days of fertilization. Identical twins share the same genetic material and look the same. They are always the same gender.

The chances of identical twins has been the same throughout the world, about 1 in 250 pregnancies. It's not dependent on any family background.

On the other hand, nonidentical twins, also called fraternal or dizygous twins, develop from two separate eggs -- probably as a result of double ovulation and fertilization by two separate sperm. Dizygous twins are more like siblings and can be the same gender or different genders.

The incidence of fraternal twins does vary. It's related to several factors, including the mother's age, nutrition, number of prior pregnancies and family background. In some parts of Africa, the rate is 1 in 20; in some parts of Asia, it's about 1 in 150.

If a woman has a family background of fraternal twins -- if she herself had fraternal twins before or if her mother, sister, or grandmother had fraternal twins -- it's possible that her chance of having fraternal twins is increased.

In your case -- you're an identical twin and it's your husband who is a fraternal twin -- there is no strong reason to think that your chance of having twins is elevated.

Unless you use fertility drugs, your overall chance of having twins is probably the same as the rest of the general population, about 1 in 90 pregnancies.

Originally posted by Technologist
Do it twice????? Can you tell I'm a guy?????

AND DRINK TWICE AS MUCH ?

SO SORRY CANDICE.
BUT I COULDN'T RESIST.

You could do an extensive search on girls who need to give up their babies for adoption and find one who is going to have twins. That's the only way I know for sure.

Originally posted by Technologist
Glad to be a help...... Now I just wish I could still do it twice!

ROFLMAO!!!!

I feel like I got lucky with my kids. Arg. My dad is an identical twin and my kids dad's mother (kids grama) is a fraternal twin. I had a miscarriage my first round of pregnancy, a set of twins. My other children were born a year apart and it is like raising twins and to top that off, dbf has a son that is 3 months younger than my ds and so now it is like we have triplets!!!!! that gets tough some days. I don't know how parents of mulitples have the energy to keep up.

Just another thought, sure it might be fun to concieve twins now but boy once they arrive, you will never find time to have that kind of fun again! hehe. Sure you don't want to rethink that?!?!?