what is mono/di...mono/mono...?

I thought I had this figured out but I guess I was wrong. I thought mono meant identical twins and the other one was faternal but then some people have something like mono/di...what does that mean? If I see this I start to think that you are pregnant with 4. identical and faternal set. I need help. More ways than others.

 

Monozygotic refers to "identical twins", or when a single egg is fertilized to form one zygote which then splits into two embryos. Dizygotic refers to "fraternal twins", or when two eggs are fertilized to form two zygotes and then two embryos.

Then there is degree of their shared in-utero environment:
Monochorionic-monoamniotic (MoMo) twins share the same placenta and same amniotic sac.
Monochorionic-diamniotic (MoDi) twins share the same placenta but are in different amniotic sacs.
Dichorionic-diamniotic (DiDi) twins are in separate placentas with separate sacs.

Most monozygotic twins are MoDi. Most dizygotic twins are DiDi.

 

teamturner broke it down for you perfectly! :good:

 

Oh boy. I don't think mine share anything so that makes them didi. I think. I need a course on this

 

It is very confusing!! It took me a long time to wrap my head around all of the twin terminology.
Di/di twins can still be identical, though. My sister's girls were di/di (so they each had their own placentas and amniotic sacs.) She was told that they were most likely fraternal. When they were born they looked a lot alike and it was discovered that they had the same blood type. As they got older they looked more and more alike- same eye color and hair color. She had their DNA tested and found out that they were identical. So, unless your boys have different blood types, eye or hair color, there will be no way of knowing if they're fraternal or identical without doing a DNA test! I think the chances of di/di identicals are pretty rare but it does happen. There are quite a few women on this board who have had the same scenario.

 

I'm not Jenn G's sister, but that is the exact scenario that happened to me.

 

Holy macamoli.. twins are confusing. I love them though

 

I would say that putting back multiple embryos with IVF and getting twins makes it even more likely that they are di/di twins if they are in separate sacs and have separate placentas.

 

Thanks Tasha, that's me! We put two in and both took