Twinsies! 20 fascinating facts and myths about twins

According to statistics, 3 out of every 1,000 pregnancies are identical twins that even share DNA. The reason is none other than a zygote that divides at an early stage and generates two similar babies.

Despite the fact that in recent times twin pregnancies have increased, hand in hand with assisted fertilization, there are many facts and curiosities that people do not know about twins. Here are some examples.

There is no scientific proof that confirms there is a hereditary element related to having identical twins.

However, the case is different with fraternal twins. According to Science.org, "Researchers have long known that women whose families include fraternal twins are more likely to give birth to twins themselves."

Despite looking similar, identical twins do not share fingerprints. The reason is that each one touches the mother's amniotic sac in different areas, which creates different lines in their fingers, according to Livescience.

Although twins share brain and thought patterns, on a physical level they are more symmetrical than identical. That is, if one is left-handed, the other will often be right-handed. If one has a birthmark on the right leg, the other will have it on the left leg, as collected by Very Well Family.

It is estimated that 10% of the world population is left-handed while, in the case of identical twins, this percentage increases to 22%.

No, the twins do not have the ability to communicate via telepathy. As they pointed out by Discovery, it is a myth that has spread more than it should. It is true that growing up together, the twins know each other perfectly and it can often seem like they can read each other's mind.

According to a study by the University of Padova, the twins begin to seek contact with their sibling in the womb. They do this from the 14th week and usually touch their sibling more than themselves.

Typically, twins spend so much time together and share so much that they come to create their own vocabulary, which is sometimes considered a personal and exclusive language between them. This own language is called cryptophasia.

Women who give birth to twins tend to live longer and be healthier than average. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the healthiest mothers have the possibility of transmitting your genes twice, improving the species in the new generations.

If you are ever stumped on how to tell a pair of identical twins apart, there is one thing that is always different: their belly button! This makes identifying newborn identical twins a little easier.

Sometimes people talk about an "evil twin" however, there is no science behind such a claim. However, usually one of the twins tends to have a more dominant personality.

There is a popular myth that if one twin is hit or injured the other feels the pain. Some twins claim this is true and they do feel their twin's pain however, most scientists and doctors agree that this is psychological and the pain is being felt empathetically.

The myth that twin pregnancies do not usually reach term and mothers end up giving birth before the 40th week of gestation is false. Twin pregnancies usually reach week 37-38 without a problem but it is recommended to deliver earlier, because the babies run out of space.

Another myth to banish is the one that ensures that twins are born underweight. Nothing is further from reality.

Photo: Unsplash - Frank McKenna

There are theories that twins can develop similar diseases and it is not true. What can happen is that there is a contagion spreads more easily due to the large amount of time they spend together.

It is possible and it has happened. The probability is one in a million but it happened to Mia Washington in 2009 and Dr. Hilda Hutcherson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Columbia University, explained it to 'Today'. "The woman usually releases one egg per month but in the case of Mia Washington there were two. In parallel, the mother had relations with two men in five days and each one fertilized an egg. Two babies, two fathers."

Photo: Unsplash - Eduardo Barrios

If two male twins marry two female twins, in a so-called quaternary marriage, their children, at the genetic level, are considered siblings.

Valentina Vassilyeva is a Russian woman who holds the record for giving birth the largest number of multiples. She had a total of 27 deliveries of which sixteen were twins, seven were triplets and four were quadruplets for a total of 69 children.

Twinsburg is located in Ohio, United States, where an event is held annually that brings together more than 2,000 pairs of twins from around the world. The Twin Days initiative dates back to 1976.

Mothers over 35 years of age are more likely to have twins, as they produce more FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) which, in parallel, reduces fertility in women.

Some say that it is not possible to breastfeed two babies at the same time and it is false. The more babies are breastfed, the more milk is generated and, therefore, both can be fed at the same time without any problem.