Creating multiples

HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

There are two types of twins, distinguished by the way the foetuses form. Identical twins (also called paternal twins, or referred to as monozygotic) form after the division of a single fertilised egg. Their genetic material is therefore exactly the same and, as the name suggests, they typically look identical or extremely similar to each other. Identical twins share a placenta, but each has their own umbilical cord attaching them to the placenta.

Fraternal twins (dizygotic) occur when two separate fertilised eggs implant in the same uterine cavity. These twins therefore