April 28, 2011 8:39:50 PM EDT
Fraternal Twins in medical terms are called Dizygotic Twins: di = two and zygote = one sperm and one egg cell. In other words, Fraternal Twins originate from two separate eggs.
Fraternal Twins are the most common of all twin babies and happen about 66% to 75% of the time. Unlike identical twins, fraternal twins are no more genetically similar than any two siblings with the same biological parents.
Combination of Fraternal Twins:
- Boy and Boy
- Girl and Girl
- Boy and Girl
Frecuency per race:
- Asian 1 in 500
- Cacausian 1 in 125
- African 1 in 20 in some populations
Other Facts:
- The babies have two placentas that can sometimes fuse into one.
- Fertility drugs make you more likely to conceive fraternal twins.
- Once you have had a set of fraternal twins, you are twice as likely to have another set in a future pregnancy.
- Fraternal twins are hereditary - they run in families.
- If you are a fraternal twin or you are related to fraternal twins, you are more likely to have a set.
- While identical twins happen by chance, fraternal twins on the contrary do run in families. The tendency to conceive fraternal twins is carried by the mother.
- The older you are, the greater your chances of having naturally occurring fraternal twins or higher-order multiples.
- The more pregnancies you have had, the greater your chances of having twins.
- Twins are more common in large and tall women than in small women.
This post was edited by TwinSociety at April 28, 2011 8:46:34 PM EDT