Identical or Fraternal Twins?

Forgot to mention something we learned about identifying whether the twins were fraternal (2 fetuses formed by the fertilization of 2 separate eggs) or identical (2 fetuses formed through the splitting of 1 fertilized egg). Btw, a fertilized egg in the early stages is called a zygote :).

The doctor showed us an ultrasound scan of the 2 developing embryos, each with own heartbeat, enveloped in a clearly visible membrane -- the egg sac. This means that the twins were formed from a single zygote -- we got identical twins!! If they were fraternal twins, each of them would be in their own egg sac.

Another implication of having identical twins is that we will have either 2 boys or 2 girls. No negotiation about that!

At this point in time, the doctor told us that one of the complications of having twins (yes, he did warn us that there are usually more risks involved in a multiple birth) is the possibility of the twins being conjoined -- more commonly known as Siamese Twins. He then proceeded to show us on the scan that the 2 heartbeats were quite 'far' apart from each other, therefore indicating that they were not conjoined. We are very thankful to God for that!!

Before we left, he told us that the next thing to look out for at the next checkup, is that each of the twin has its own chorion membrane. Having an individual chorion around each baby greatly reduces the risk of entanglement of the umbilical cord, as each baby would be encased within its own chorion. There are instances where both twins share the same chorion, surrounded by the amnion.

Stay tuned for my next post! :)