CATHERINE BELL BIRTH CARTOGRAPHER
  • Home
    • About >
      • life BC
    • Is IBP for You?
    • Informed Decisions
    • Birth Support (doulas)
    • FAQs
    • Contact
    • information policy
  • Birth Cartography training
    • private session with Catherine via zoom
    • Intensive
    • Retreat
    • Birth Cartographer Online training
    • expressions of interest
  • THE BOOK
    • The Birth Map
    • ORDER TODAY
    • Event Pick up
    • Where can I buy the book?
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Talking about The Birth Map
    • feedback survey
  • Bellablog
  • Events
  • Stay up to Date
    • Newsletter Archive
    • StoryTime
  • Member Area
    • Read The Book
    • Support Group Discussion
    • Webinars and podcasts
    • links and recommended books
    • Resources (research articles)
    • example maps

'identical' TWINS!

7/3/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture


​There once was a Fella called Pollux,
Who thought his brother's mortality was bollocks,
So into the heavens they go
A guide to Sailors they show
St Elmo's Fire in which they could frolic
Celebrating Twins.

I have a genetical identical...what does this mean?  Are we one and the same?

 We are mono-zygotic twins: we are the result of a single egg and a single sperm which divided into two (rather awesome) individuals between day 6 and 10 after conception.  From that point on, we developed as two.  We were in the same environment for close to 9 months, but experienced it differently.  Together.  But separate.

We were Mono-chorionic, Di-amniotic (MCDC): we shared an outer sac, but had separate inner sacs (see Figure C in the image below).  Our finger prints are different.  Just so you know.
Picture
​Our genetic map is for the most part identical - but epi-genetically, we are unique.

From the moment we became two, we developed and emerged as individuals. 

Yes, we swapped name tags to trick a teacher who was not seeing us as individuals.
Yes, even now at 40, when we are together the reaction is "OMG".
I have a dozen funny stories about mistaken identity.  The human brain will ignore any nuances in favour of the key features (like an inbuilt auto correct).  This is why witness statements alone are not enough to convict someone of a crime....near enough is good enough for our brains.
Twins are Big Business:  Long have twins been the (voluntary) guinea pigs of human research.  From 'Nature Vs Nurture', study of diseases and to the epigenetic studies more recently, twins have been 'helping' researchers to understand human development and develop medical advancements (for example, these current studies).  

Read an Informed Twin Birth Story The doula who tells her story knew that modern twinning was fraught with over-medicalisation.  She knew her rights, her options and her responsibilities.  She owned her power.  And her story highlights that it is possible to have a less intensively medical birth with multiples.  Back in my day....scans were not routine.  My mother had to request one to confirm her suspicions: "this is either an octopus or twins".  So at 6mths pregnant, a grainy scan confirmed there were two of us.  I will save that story for another day.  

Read a story of how a semi-paraplegic mum of twins is being supported by not-for profit Yooralla.  

​Have you heard of Semi-identical twins?
The Immortal Pollux, in the limerick above was a semi-identical twin to the mortal Castor.  One mother, two fathers, so the greek legend goes.  And when Caster died, Pollux asked that he be immortal too...and so they became the constellation gemini.  Turns out, semi identical twins are not just the stuff of legends.

Do twins ever mix themselves up?  I could send you straight to the paper, but it gets a mention here for winning an Ig Noble in 2017. It was a small study, but it seems if you flash an image of my twin at me, I could think it was me, and visa versa.  But hey...I'm not a computer....and at least if I get lonely I can just talk to myself in the mirror and pretend it is my sister.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Selected Articles by Catherine ​around the web:
    bellabirth.wordpress.com | evolutionary parenting | pregnancy.com.au | 
    ​| birth without fear | newborn mothers | PBBMedia |
    Sign up to the newsletter
    Join the Member Area​  

    Bellablog Topics

    All
    Autonomy
    Babymoon
    Baby Stuff
    Babywearing
    Birth History
    Birth Map
    Birth Plan
    Birth Preparation
    Birth Stories
    Birth Trauma
    Birth Types
    Book Review
    Breastfeeding
    Breech
    Caesarean
    Consent
    Doula
    Evolution
    Fear
    Feminism
    Five Stages Of Being
    Frozen II
    Gbs
    Gestational Diabetes
    Guest Post
    History
    Hypnobirth
    Induction
    Informed Decisions
    Introducing Solids
    Iv Fluids
    Kangaroo Care
    Labour
    Microbiome
    Motherhood
    Natural Learning
    Normal
    Parenting
    Placenta
    Poetry
    Postnatal Depression
    Quotes
    Relationships
    Resources
    Risk
    Self Care
    Sex
    Sleep
    Spd
    Squatting
    Summer Pregnancy
    Support
    The Cord
    The Nocebo Effect
    Toilet Training
    Twins
    Ultrasound
    Vaccination
    Visual Birth Plan
    Vitamin K

Picture

​About | The Book | FAQs | Member Area  | ​Contact | Newsletter  
​ This website (including the Member Area) is free to access and free of adverts, ​thanks to contributions and sales of The Book
Picture
All links are GOLD.  External links open in a new page.  ​I endeavour to only link to safe and non-spam websites. ​ ​This website, and any provided links and reviews, ​are intended as information only.  
How you use this is up to you.
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Editor B, Darling Starlings, SO Beach Party, Leonard Bentley, IQRemix, C. VanHook (vanhookc), lemonfilmblog, State Library of South Australia, Someone's Name, edenpictures, ShebleyCL, MassiveKontent, symphony of love, Kelly Sue, szwerink, Dawn Endico, fortfan, Jim Linwood, symphony of love, JLaw45
  • Home
    • About >
      • life BC
    • Is IBP for You?
    • Informed Decisions
    • Birth Support (doulas)
    • FAQs
    • Contact
    • information policy
  • Birth Cartography training
    • private session with Catherine via zoom
    • Intensive
    • Retreat
    • Birth Cartographer Online training
    • expressions of interest
  • THE BOOK
    • The Birth Map
    • ORDER TODAY
    • Event Pick up
    • Where can I buy the book?
    • Reviews and Testimonials
    • Talking about The Birth Map
    • feedback survey
  • Bellablog
  • Events
  • Stay up to Date
    • Newsletter Archive
    • StoryTime
  • Member Area
    • Read The Book
    • Support Group Discussion
    • Webinars and podcasts
    • links and recommended books
    • Resources (research articles)
    • example maps