Can identical twins look different at birth?

"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

My ID girls looked very different at birth as well. They had a 24 oz.
weight difference but only 1/2 inch difference in length. Also, Chelsea
(the larger twin) had a great deal more hair than her sister which appeared
darker at first. We were certain at birth they were identical
(monoamniotic), but if we had not had such a clear indication of zygosity,
I'm not sure I would have been able to tell until they were nearly a year
old and the weight difference had resolved. At nearly 13 years old, they
have a 10 lb weight difference which makes them look less alike. So, in my
experience significant weight differences make a marked change in appearing
alike.
HTH,
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those "ah
ha" moments. 50% here.

Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those "ah
ha" moments. 50% here.

"TwinMom" wrote in message
Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we
IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other
fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those
"ah
ha" moments. 50% here.


I remember reading about this tribe. They are the Yoruba in Nigeria. There
was some study done concerning their diet, which consists mainly of white
yams, being a contributing factor in the twinning rate. I'd have to look it
up, but there was some substance in the yams that acted on the hormone
system. It was speculated that this caused a higher number of eggs to be
released.
I've not heard the Irish fact. Will have to read up on that since my family
is irish on my mother's side. Would very much like to know why the Irish
have a higher rate, what factors, etc.
I think these rates differences are for fraternal twins, whereas ID twinning
rates stay mostly static worldwide. I think that is the main reason ID
twinning is not thought to be passed on genetically.
Very interesting, thanks!!
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

"TwinMom" wrote in message
Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we
IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other
fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those
"ah
ha" moments. 50% here.


I remember reading about this tribe. They are the Yoruba in Nigeria. There
was some study done concerning their diet, which consists mainly of white
yams, being a contributing factor in the twinning rate. I'd have to look it
up, but there was some substance in the yams that acted on the hormone
system. It was speculated that this caused a higher number of eggs to be
released.
I've not heard the Irish fact. Will have to read up on that since my family
is irish on my mother's side. Would very much like to know why the Irish
have a higher rate, what factors, etc.
I think these rates differences are for fraternal twins, whereas ID twinning
rates stay mostly static worldwide. I think that is the main reason ID
twinning is not thought to be passed on genetically.
Very interesting, thanks!!
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

I've read that the rate among the Irish isn't actually appreciably
different from the other northern European regions.

The Yoruban rate is about 1 in 20 births; it is said to approach 1 in 10
if you look only at the youngest women in the population.

C&E were conceived sometime around Thanksgiving, and I read the thing
about yams on-line. When I read it, I didn't realize that there was a
difference between the African variety and our Thanksgiving variety, so
I at first wondered whether Thanksgiving dinner might have been a
contributing factor! I learned later it was a different type of yam;
the one the Yoruba tribe eats seems to cause their bodies to release
more gonadotropin, which stimulates ovulation. Rats that were fed a
diet of white yams had litters twice as large.

Julie

KimAK wrote:

"TwinMom" wrote in message
Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we
IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other
fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those
"ah
ha" moments. 50% here.


I remember reading about this tribe. They are the Yoruba in Nigeria. There
was some study done concerning their diet, which consists mainly of white
yams, being a contributing factor in the twinning rate. I'd have to look it
up, but there was some substance in the yams that acted on the hormone
system. It was speculated that this caused a higher number of eggs to be
released.
I've not heard the Irish fact. Will have to read up on that since my family
is irish on my mother's side. Would very much like to know why the Irish
have a higher rate, what factors, etc.
I think these rates differences are for fraternal twins, whereas ID twinning
rates stay mostly static worldwide. I think that is the main reason ID
twinning is not thought to be passed on genetically.
Very interesting, thanks!!
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

I've read that the rate among the Irish isn't actually appreciably
different from the other northern European regions.

The Yoruban rate is about 1 in 20 births; it is said to approach 1 in 10
if you look only at the youngest women in the population.

C&E were conceived sometime around Thanksgiving, and I read the thing
about yams on-line. When I read it, I didn't realize that there was a
difference between the African variety and our Thanksgiving variety, so
I at first wondered whether Thanksgiving dinner might have been a
contributing factor! I learned later it was a different type of yam;
the one the Yoruba tribe eats seems to cause their bodies to release
more gonadotropin, which stimulates ovulation. Rats that were fed a
diet of white yams had litters twice as large.

Julie

KimAK wrote:

"TwinMom" wrote in message
Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we
IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other
fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those
"ah
ha" moments. 50% here.


I remember reading about this tribe. They are the Yoruba in Nigeria. There
was some study done concerning their diet, which consists mainly of white
yams, being a contributing factor in the twinning rate. I'd have to look it
up, but there was some substance in the yams that acted on the hormone
system. It was speculated that this caused a higher number of eggs to be
released.
I've not heard the Irish fact. Will have to read up on that since my family
is irish on my mother's side. Would very much like to know why the Irish
have a higher rate, what factors, etc.
I think these rates differences are for fraternal twins, whereas ID twinning
rates stay mostly static worldwide. I think that is the main reason ID
twinning is not thought to be passed on genetically.
Very interesting, thanks!!
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

Kinda not an answer to your question, but when my best friend came into the
hospitcal room, the day they were born, he noticed that one was a boy, one
was a girl, and they already didn't look anything alike, and he said:

(no, I'm not making this up)

he said: "So, James, are they technically twins?"



"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

Kinda not an answer to your question, but when my best friend came into the
hospitcal room, the day they were born, he noticed that one was a boy, one
was a girl, and they already didn't look anything alike, and he said:

(no, I'm not making this up)

he said: "So, James, are they technically twins?"



"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

irishtwinsmom wrote:
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the
differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and
Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann
continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info
they can share on the topic???

My boys are different sizes and they were identical. In our case, it
was due to twin-to-twin transfusion (one little fellow got more blood
than the other). So they were born at 34 weeks at 3.5 and 4.5 pounds.
Now at 2 years they are still pretty different in size. To some degree
because the larger little guy just seems to be a bigger little piggy
compared to his smaller brother. People still have difficulty telling
them apart.

Quite frankly I don't worry about it. I more worry about them being
jealous of each other and being able to find their own individual space
and identity.