Fraternal twins with the other twin types
Twins tends to be born healthy, but this could point to the occurrence of health complications for both the mother along with the baby. This means that both the mother along with the baby needs extra check -ups. For twins that share the same sac or placenta need to be monitored closely. It is better to be aware whether identical twins having babies with identical twins are possible as it would be helpful later.
Twins are normally described from
- The number of eggs from which they develop which is one or two
- In the mother’s womb when they go on to share the same placenta
Though the main types of twins are maternal twins and fraternal twins
Fraternal twins
The process of pregnancy starts when the sperm fertilizes the egg. Zygote is the name for the fertilized egg. In certain cases the ovaries of a woman go on to release a couple of eggs. Then separate sperms fertilize each of the egg. This leads to the formation of twins and they are known as fraternal twins. Twins depicts non -identical twins or twins that arise from a couple of zygotes.
Once pregnant the developing baby gets oxygen or food from the mother with the help of placenta or the umbilical cord. In case of fraternal twins they have different umbilical cords and placentas. In medical terms they are known as dichorionic. Such twins can be the same or even from the opposite sex and just like any brother or sister their genes can be different. In most of the cases the fraternal twins of the same sex are going to look different. But they are cousin’s identical twins in any case. They could go on to have a different hair or eye colour. In a lot of ways they are going to look similar. In the rarest of cases the fraternal twins share the same placenta. Such a type of twin is known as chimaeric twins.
Identical twins
In certain cases a fertilized egg could go on to split within a few days of conception and they are going to develop genetically identical twins. Since these twins are going to originate from a single zygote it is termed as monozygotic. These identical types of twins happen to be of the same sex.
The reason why it is important to understand about fraternal or identical twin
In case of same sex twins with separate placenta can be identical or fraternal. Because of health reasons it is necessary to be aware your baby belongs to which class. In order to throw more light on the same, you need to opt for a generic test the moment a baby is born. This goes by the name of Zygosity test. This is a test that is not going to hurt and a sample of cheek cells are collected where the inside of the baby cheeks are rubbed with a soft applicator. This could be in the form of a cotton bud and the cost will be around $ 20.