Twins

[Smurfie]

I have always been fascinated by twins - I've read that it runs in families, and also that taking fertility treatment could result in twins. Does anyone have more information on this?

[Octavius]

Should be in Body&Soul really - or Parenting.

Anyhow, I am led to believe that if it runs in the family it is more likely to happen.  However, my cousin had 2 boy twins, then 1 boy and then 2 boy twins!  5 boys howzat! And there is no known history of twins on either side. 

[zgma]

Having identical twins (where one egg and one sperm split into 2 embryos with the same genes) runs in families.

 

Having fraternal twins (2 eggs, 2 sperms, only as genetically similar as 2 siblings of different ages would be) does not run in families.  This is often just a coincidence that there happened to be 2 eggs that cycle.  Or, more frequently lately, it is as a result of fertility treatment that has caused 2 eggs to be produced in the same cycle.

[bernardo]

Fertility treatment often results in twins or triplets or quadruplets or quintuplets because it stimulates the ovary to release more eggs than usual.  It just means that there are more eggs available waiting to catch the sperm, so sometimes they all manage to score.

[5029]

There has been fraternal twins in every other generation in my family for a while now