Fun Facts:

Monozygotic (or Identical) Twins are created from one fertilized egg that splits into two. 

Dizygotic (or Fraternal) Twins are created from two eggs fertilized by two sperm.

It is suggested that it's possible for one egg to be fertilized by two sperm at the same time and that when the egg splits that the twins will have 75% matching DNA.  This is called "Polar Twinning". 

Sorry folks...there is no such thing as "maternal" or "paternal" twins.

What are your chances of having twins?

Part of it is genetics.  If you have a family history, particularly if your mother or maternal grandmother have/had dizygotic twins, you may have inherited the gene for hyperovulation (producing extra eggs). 

Are you tall or a bit overweight?  Some say that this increases a woman's chance of having twins.

Already have dizogotic twins?  Research indicates that a woman who has already had fraternal twins may be FOUR times more likely to have twins than a woman who has never been pregnant or who has had a singleton. 

How old are you?  The older you get, the better your chances of having multiples.  Why?  As your biological clocks starts ticking a little faster (and louder), ovulation picks up...or so we've been told.

Want lots of kids?  Studies indicate that the more times a woman becomes pregnancy, the higher her chances of having twins.

Do you like yams?  No one is quite sure why, but the Yoruba tribe in West Africa has the highest rate of twinning in the world. A study concluded that the mother's diet was the cause, being high in cassava, a type of yam or sweet potato. The peelings of this vegetable are thought to contain a chemical that causes hyperovulation.

Fertility treatments, such as drugs and in-vitro, have pushed up the cases of twins, triplets and more in recent years.  A great option for those women who have had a hard time conceiving or sustaining a pregnancy.

And then there are those that just have twins because they just have twins!

No matter how or why...we're all lucky to be a part of this great sisterhood of multiple moms!
 

 Famous Parents of Multiples

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Madeleine Albright
Muhammad Ali
Ed Asner
Johan Sebastian Bach
Adrian Barbeau
Ingrid Bergman
Corbin Bernsen/Amanda Pays
David Birney/Meredith Baxter
Debby Boone
Mike Bordick
George W. Bush
Cleopatra/Marc Anthony
Nat King Cole
Bing Crosby
Kerry Kennedy Cuomo
Robert DeNiro
Mia Farrow/Andre Previn
Michael J. Fox/Tracy Pollan
Mel Gibson
Luis Gonzales (triplets)
Bruce Hornsby
Ron Howard
King Hussein
Christine Lahti
Ivan Lendl
Loretta Lynn
Jane Pauley/Garry Trudeau
Henry Mancini
Dave Matthews
Ricky Nelson
Al Pacino/Bevery D'Angelo
Pelé
Holly Robinson/Rodney Peete
Lou Diamond Phillips
Ruth Pointer
Patricia Richardson
Julia Roberts
Nelson Rockefeller
Ray Romano
Jane Seymour/James Keach
Cybill Sheperd
William Shakespeare
James (Jimmy) Stewart
Harriet Beacher Stowe
Donald Sutherland
Nikki Taylor
Margaret Thatcher
Richard Thomas (triplets)
Cheryl Tiegs
Denzel Washington
John Wayne (grandfather and great-grandfather of twins)
 

Famous Twins
 

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Actors/Actresses
Karen Black
Montgomery Clift
Deidre Hall
Linda Hamilton
Jill Hennessy
Mary-Kate/Ashley Olsen
Ed Sullivan
Kiefer Sutherland
Billy Dee Williams

Authors
Heloise Bowles
Ann Landers/Abigail Van Buren
Thorton Wilder

Musicians
Maurice/Robin Gibb
Jim/Jon Hager
Jennifer/Heather Kinley
Liberace
Alanis Morresette
Gunnar/Matthew Nelson
Elvis Presley

Athletes
Mario/Aldo Andretti
Ronde/Tiki Barber
Jose/Ozzie Canseco
John Elway
Horace/Harvey Grant
Tim/Tom Guliksen
Phil/Steve Mahre
Mark/Michael Mimbs
Jim Thorpe