Researchers from all over the world have found that when one identical twin is depressed, the other twin will also have depression 76% of the time. With fraternal pairs, the twin of a depressed person experiences depression only 19% of the time.
Postnatal depression after having twins
More than 1 in 10 women get postnatal depression within a year of giving birth. This figure is slightly higher for mothers of multiple babies. Twins are more likely to be cared for in the neonatal unit. It's thought this could increase the chances of postnatal depression.
The strongest risk factor for suicide is mental illness and studies show that mental illness is slightly more common among twins.
Adult twins will experience loneliness, which is inevitable and can lead to emotional confusion, depression, and being overwhelmed. Nontwins will not understand the depth of your loneliness, which will only gradually fade into the background as you make new friends and get engaged in life without your twin.
Separation anxiety deeply affects all twins. The parental role is to help twins manage emotional issues when they separate from one another. When separation anxiety between twin and twin, or between parent and twin, is not handled adequately there are serious side effects, including fear of being on their own.
Being a twin has its benefits—tricking people, having a lifelong companion, sharing clothes—but it also has downsides. Many twins struggle to cultivate their own identities, while being so similar to one another. And that struggle lasts a lifetime, according to a recent study.
Beyond the usual rivalry and spats between brothers and sisters, there's the additional pressure and frustration that comes with always being lumped in with, and compared to, another person. From an early age, twins often feel intense competition as they struggle to forge their own identities beyond one half of a duo.
A twinless twin, or lone twin, is a person whose twin has died. Twinless twins around the world unite through organizations and online groups to share support and the status as a twinless twin. Triplets, quadruplets and higher order multiples can also experience this sort of loss.
Twins share the same genes but their environments become more different as they age. This unique aspect of twins makes them an excellent model for understanding how genes and the environment contribute to certain traits, especially complex behaviors and diseases.
When a twin dies, the twinless twin longs to reconnect. The twinless twin may have phantom pain or feel half dead. He or she may feel a need to represent both him or herself and the deceased twin or may even take on behaviors of the deceased twin.
At age 7, the mean IQ score of twins was 5.3 points lower than that of singletons in the same family, and at age 9, the score was 6.0 points lower. The lower intelligence of twins in childhood may partly be a consequence of the reduced fetal growth and shorter gestations of twins, say the authors.
Using the family-based adult sample, no differences in IQ scores were found between twins and their singleton siblings.
Thus identical twins, though they start with the same genes, likely develop different personalities in the same environment partially based on how they interact with their environment.
Parents Of Twins Run Higher Risk Of Depression Than Other New Parents : Shots - Health News Expectant parents of twins and other multiples may be ready for the joy and extra physical demands of caring for more than one baby. But few know the risk of depression and anxiety runs higher, too.
Getting twins into a routine
Twins Trust advises that the best way to cope with caring for twins is to develop a routine that suits you. Think about your babies' needs – feeding, sleeping and playing – and develop a routine around these activities that works for the whole family.
"Having twins will not make you stronger or healthier, but stronger, healthier women are more likely to have twins naturally," says Shannen Robson, the study's first author and a recent Ph.
Monoamniotic-monochorionic Twins
This is the rarest type of twin, and it means a riskier pregnancy as the babies can get tangled in their own umbilical cords.
A big reason for all those twins is an increase in medically assisted reproduction, including in vitro fertilization, ovarian stimulation and artificial insemination. Another reason is that women in many countries are having babies at older ages.
"Twins tend to be closer than typical siblings — they share a bond that is oftentimes unexplainable," Maureen Healy, an expert on sensitive children and author of Growing Happy Kids, tells Romper. "Many believe this is rooted in genetics, such as identical twins sharing the same DNA."
In modern use, evil twin and one sense of the word doppelgänger have come to be virtually interchangeable.
In Madagascar, the Antambahoaka tribe considers twins a curse, an abomination. According to tradition, if a woman gives birth to twins, she is expected to abandon them or face becoming ostracised by the community.
It occurs when an embryo detected during an ultrasound can't be found on a future ultrasound. The embryo stops developing, and its tissue gets absorbed by the mother, or gestational parent, and the surviving embryo(s).
The hardest thing about having twins is…
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
It's equally unsurprising that a Danish study found that twins are less likely to get married than non-twins. As twins have a partner from birth, the study suggests that they may not have the same desire for marriage as singletons.
The reality is that raising multiples is hard. You have double or triple the feeding, diapering, and laundry and, as a result, less time to spend cuddling and getting to know each baby. To be sure, there will be days when you feel as if you're walking up a down escalator.