towards a psychological profile for womb twin survivors
DESCRIPTION
The progress of Althea Hayton's 10 year research programme to clarify the psychological profile of the womb twin survivor.TRANSCRIPT
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Towards a psychological profile of womb twin
survivorsAlthea Hayton
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This presentation
• Literature search• Twins and twinning• Questionnaire • Analysis & results
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Literature research
• When one twin dies before birth
• The development of a research questionnaire
• The results of the first analysis
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The literature search
• Books• Articles• Web sites ?
A little-known area of study?
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Dr Louis G. KeithEncouraging writing about twins
The Keith TwinsDonald (left) and
Louis
The Center for the Study of Multiple
Birth, ChicagoFounded 1977
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Published articles
1982: The Vanishing Twin
Acta Geneticae Medicae et Gemellologiae (Roma)
Landy HJ, Keith L, Keith D.
Helain J. Landy, MD
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Books
1995: Multiple pregnancy: epidemiology, gestation & perinatal outcome By Isaac Blickstein, Louis G. Keith (2nd edition 2005)
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How many twins are lost before birth?
Charles E. Boklage, PhD
“For every live-born twin pair, 10 - 12 pregnancies result in single births.”
1990: “Survival probability of human conceptions from fertilization to term.” International Journal of Fertility
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Conclusions
• On average 1% of live births are twins.
• For every live-born pair of twins there are 10 womb twin survivors
• Womb twin survivors make up 10% of the world’s population
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How one twin may die before birth
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No evidence
Evidence cannot be available if:
The baby was adoptedMother will not talk about itMother has diedNo other family members knewNo one suspected twins ?
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Death in the womb
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One foetal heart stops beating
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The “vanishing” twin on the ultrasound scan
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The “vanishing” twin
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Bleeding in the first trimester
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More than one embryo implanted after IVF
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Miscarriage, but pregnancy continues
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Abortion, but pregnancy continues
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Multi-fetal pregnancy reduction
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Signs of a lost twin at birth
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One twin stillborn
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An acardiac twin
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Fetus papyraceous
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In the body of the survivor
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Parasitic twin
Illustration of an adult man with a parasitic twin from “Monstrorum Historia Memorabilis” by Johann Schenk, 1609
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The fetus in fetu
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Teratoma
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Dermoid cyst
.
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Characteristics of the opposite sex
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Auto-immune disease
Lupus “butterfly” rash
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Vitiligo
Irregular patches of dark skin
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Other indications of twinning
?
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Uterus extra large in first trimester
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Mother took ovulation-stimulating drugs
Clomid Serophene
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Cerebral palsy
Sole surviving twins are at increased risk of cerebral palsy.
1996 Pharoah POD, Cooke T. “Cerebral palsy and multiple births.” Archives of Diseases in Childhood.
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Left- or mixed-handedness
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Twins in the family
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The psychological impression on the survivor
• No sense of time
• No sense of place
• No sense of process or logic• Confused senses
• Vagueness of impressions
• Chaotic perception ?
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Creating the research questionnaire
• Details of mother’s pregnancy • Signs of a lost twin• Indications of a lost twin• Feelings, beliefs and attitudes
?
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Details of pregnancy“Yes”, “no” or “don’t know”
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Signs of a lost twin“Yes”, “no” or “don’t know”
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Bodily indications of a lost twin“Yes”, “no” or “don’t know”
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Feelings, beliefs and attitudes
A,B,C,D,E % No longer
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The results
• 500 questionnaires were completed
• 266 respondents were able to provide evidence of their twin
• A preliminary analysis carried out by the Statistics Department of the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK in 2009
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The selected respondents
• Only those able to provide evidence that their twin once existed
• Only those who showed the strongest agreement with the statement concerned
266 in all
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A sense of self
• Not realising my full potential
• Feel different
• Two sides
• Torn in two
• Low self-esteem
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Feelings
• Something missing
• Alone, even among friends
• Unsatisfied
• Deep pain that will not heal
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Difficulty with relationships
• Fear of rejection• Fear of
abandonment• Searching• Strong inner life• Sabotage
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Problem behaviours
• A problem with anger
• Restlessness
• I get bored easily
• Clutter/hoarding
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A psychological profile of womb twin survivors
• An unusual person • Signs of psychological distress • Negative moods and feelings• Difficulties in relationships• Self-sabotage• Self-defeating behaviour• A fragile sense of self
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The research continues
www.WombTwinSurvivors.com
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The research continues
“Does zygosity matter?”
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Identical (monozygotic) twins formed from one zygote
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Monozygotic twinsZygote divided at 1-4 days after conception
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Monozygotic twins
Zygote divided 3-8 days after conception
Zygote divided 8-12 days after conception
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The responses of monozygotic womb twin survivors
ANGER VULNERABLE PERFECTIONIST
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The psychological characteristcs of monozygotic womb twin survivors
ANGER: I have a problem with anger - either there is too much or too little
VULNERABLE: Deep down I feel very vulnerable, as if it would not take much to totally annihilate me as an individual
PERFECTIONIST: I am a perfectionist
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Fraternal (dizygotic) twins formed from two separate zygotes
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Dizygotic twins
Separate placentas Fused placentas
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The responses of dizygotic womb twin survivors
DARK RESTLESS DEEP PAIN
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The psychological characteristics of dizygotic womb twin survivors
DARK: I am afraid of being alone in the dark
RESTLESS : All my life I have felt restless and unsettled
DEEP PAIN : all my life I have carried deeply felt emotional pain that persists, despite all my efforts to heal myself
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A multiple pregnancy formed from three or more zygotes
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Triplets
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The responses of multiple womb twin survivors
REST GUILTY DEATH
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The psychological characteristics of multiple womb twin survivors
REST: I know I do not rest enough
GUILTY: I feel guilty about everything
DEATH : deep down I somehow know I experienced death before I was born
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A complex of vague impressions dating back to pre-birth, which for womb twin survivors includes a vague imprint of the presence
of Another.
The Dream of the Womb
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www.wombtwinsurvivors.com
All you ever needed to know about womb twin survivors