5 Things to Know About Twins

Bethlehem, PA (2/15/2017) – Among the hot news out of Hollywood this week is the glimpse into the family life of George and Amal Clooney who announced they are expecting twins in June. St. Luke’s OB/GYN
Holli Warholic, DO, of St. Luke's Riverside Women's Healthcare, offers five interesting facts about twins you may not have known:

1.  1. Identical twins do not have identical fingerprints
2.  2. The autonomous language often created and shared between twins is called idioglossia.
3.  3. In 2009, 1 in every 30 babies born in the United States was a twin, compared with 1 in every 53 babies in 1980.
4.  4. Identical twins come from the same egg that splits after fertilization. Fraternal twins are from two separate eggs that each get fertilized. Rare twin types include “half identical twins” which occurs when an egg splits and each half is fertilized. Another is mirror image twins which are identical twins who develop asymmetrically.
5.  5. The body is well equipped to make enough milk to breast feed twins and other multiples. It's all about supply and demand, and the body will make enough milk to keep up with the demands of twins.

For more information on pregnancy, birth, obstetric and/or gynecological services, please visit
womens.slhn.org or call 1-866-STLUKES.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a non-profit, regional, fully integrated and nationally recognized network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites. The network’s service area includes Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and in Warren County in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 22 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital, the only one in the region. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first Medical School. Repeatedly, including 2016, St. Luke’s has earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation as well as 50 Top Cardiovascular program in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers in comparison to major teaching hospitals and other health systems.