Fraternal Twins Fraternal twins (dizygotic) occur when two separate eggs are fertilized by two separate sperm.

Two separate babies with no more in common than siblings born at different times are formed. Fraternal twins can be the same sex and/or blood type. They always have separate placentas, but their placentas may fuse together during the course of pregnancy and appear as one at birth. Fraternal twins will never share the same amnion and chorion. Twins that are male and female and/or have different blood types can easily be determined as fraternal. Lastly, fraternal twins may be due to hereditary influences Fraternal twins can share many similarities in appearance just like any brother or sister of the same family. Though, I have known fraternal twins that were, in fact, difficult to tell apart. A great example of this are the famous Olsen twins (a.k.a. Mary Kate and Ashley), who claim to be fraternal twins. Generally though, fraternals are distinct enough to recognize who is who with ease. And it's a no brainer when they are of different sexes. Now, on to the "why" factor. Fraternal twins are actually the most common type of twinning. While identical twins happen for no apparent reason, fraternal twins come about due to a number of factors. Because the ovary's malfunction of releasing two or more eggs at one time (hyper-ovulation) may be inherited, it is common to have a several sets of fraternal twins throughout many generations in one family. These fraternal twins are generally considered hereditary. It's a common misconception that twins only come down through the mother's side. This only holds true when the father is the one with twins in the family or is a twin himself and he is also the one trying to conceive twins. To put it a bit more simply, the male only provides the sperm, whereas, the female is the one who either ovulates two eggs (fraternal twins) or one egg that splits (identical twins). That's why a woman can still inherit the hyper-ovulation gene from a grandmother, aunt, etc. on her father's side. But her father would not have had any hereditary chance of having twins himself when he had his child/children. In this situation, any possibility of hereditary fraternal twins would have to come from the mother's side. An added reason for having fraternal twins is the age of the mother at conception. The chance of fraternal twins is more prevalent in women 35 years of age and older. And yet another growing cause of fraternal twins is the use of fertility treatments. If you are undergoing these treatments, your doctor will have already informed you of the possibility of a multiple birth. Fun Fact: There are basically five common variations of twinning. The most common type of twinning is fraternal, male-female twins. This particular combination makes up approximately 40 percent of all twins born, followed by fraternal girls, then fraternal boys. After that, there's identical girls, then identical boys. The latter being the least common type of twinning of the five mentioned here.

What Does Fraternal Mean? You'll find just about everything you need to know about fraternal twins here. We've also gathered together some facts and stats to help you understand this part of the twin world. Fraternal twins make up approximately 75% of the twin population and can be boy/boy, girl/girl, or boy/girl sets. Fraternal, or "dizygotic", twins happen when Mom releases two eggs (either at the same or different times during her cycle), and different sperm fertilize each egg. Fraternal twins share up to 50% of their genes, and are no more alike or different than any two siblings would be. The similarity between fraternal twins can be close to identical - there are many fraternal twins that look identical - even more identical than some identical twins! The difference between fraternal and identical twins is that fraternal twins are two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm to form two separate embryos and then make two separate babies. Identical twins are formed when one fertilized egg divides into two separate embryos to make two babies. The two most common ways fraternal twins develop, or are conceived: Superfecundation: Superfecundation happens when Mom ovulates more than one egg during her cycle (a process called hyperovulation), and different sperm fertilizes two eggs. Mom may have inherited a gene that causes hyperovulation, which means she releases more than one egg during her regular cycles, thus the saying "twins are hereditary" or the common question "do twins run in your family". Many fertility drugs cause Mom to hyperovluate as well. Superfetation: Superfetation happens when Mom is already pregnant when she ovulates and releases another egg - sometimes as long as 24 days after the first egg is released. A different sperm then fertilizes the second egg. While the twins have different conception dates the babies will most likely be delivered at the same time, although they may be different sizes and at different developmental stages. In vitro fertilization - when fertilized eggs are implanted in Mom - is a form of superfetation. Superfetation also can happen when Mom undergoes fertilization treatments where fertilized eggs are implanted (in vitro), and then releases an egg during her cycle, which is also fertilized. Since fraternal twins are formed by two separate eggs fertilized by two different sperm, fraternal twins can have different fathers.

In general, it is believed that having fraternal (dizygotic) twins can be genetic and that this predisposition can cause women to be more likely to release more than one egg at a time, offering the chance for more than one egg to be fertilized at a time. Other factors that can increase your chances of having fraternal twins include using fertility treatments and a mother being over 35-40 years old when she becomes pregnant.
Fraternal twins (dizygotic) occur when two separate eggs are fertilized by two separate sperm. Two separate babies with no more in common than siblings born at different times are formed. Fraternal twins can be the same sex and/or blood type. They always have separate placentas, but their placentas may fuse together during the course of pregnancy and appear as one at birth. Fraternal twins will never share the same amnion and chorion. Twins that are male and female and or have different blood types can easily be determined as fraternal. Lastly, fraternal twins may be due to hereditary influences. Fraternal twins can share many similarities in appearance just like any brother or sister of the same family. Though, I have known fraternal twins that were in fact difficult to tell apart. A great example of this is the famous Olsen twins (a.k.a. Mary Kate and Ashley), who claim to be fraternal twins. Generally though, fraternals are distinct enough to recognize who is who with ease. And it's a no brainer when they are of different sexes. Now on to the "why" factor. Fraternal twins are actually the most common type of twinning. While identical twins happen for no apparent reason, fraternal twins come about due to a number of factors. Because hyper-ovulation (releasing two or more eggs at one time) can be inherited, it is common to have several sets of fraternal twins throughout many generations in one family. These fraternal twins are generally considered hereditary. See Odds Of Having Twins. It's a common misconception that twins only come down through the mother's side. This only holds true when the father is the one with twins in the family or is a twin himself and he is also the one trying to conceive twins. To put it a bit more simply, the male only provides the sperm, whereas, the female is the one who either ovulates two eggs (fraternal twins) or one egg that splits (identical twins). That's why a woman can still inherit the hyper-ovulation gene from a grandmother, aunt, etc. on her father's side. But her father would not have had any hereditary chance of having twins himself when he had his child/children. Make sense? An added reason for having fraternal twins is the age of the mother at conception. The chance of fraternal twins is more prevalent in women 35 years of age and older. And yet another growing cause of fraternal twins is the use of fertility treatments. If you are undergoing these treatments, your doctor will have already informed you of the possibility of a multiple birth. Fun Fact: There are basically five common variations of twinning. The most common type of twinning is fraternal, male-female twins. This particular combination makes up approximately 40 percent of all twins born, followed by fraternal girls, then fraternal boys. After that, there's identical girls, then identical boys. The latter being the least common type of twinning. It should also be noted that there are more twin pregnancies documented in women of African decent and less in women of Asian decent.