Since the introduction of IVF in 1978, the number of multiple births has almost doubled. Does this mean that twins and other multiples have lost their “specialness"? Every culture has its twin myths. Voodoo practitioners in Haiti believe twins have magical ability and share a single soul. Some Native American tribes considered them unlucky.
This fascination with people who come in multiples - particularly identical twins - is because they make us question our sense of uniqueness, says Dr Nancy Segal, a psychology lecturer and twin expert at California State University. “We tend to expect individual difference in appearance and in behaviour, so when we see two people who look so much alike - and are so much alike - this really draws our interest.Ž
Because what does being a twin do to someone? For storytellers, twins represent duality, with one good and one bitter, having to share. The evil twin is a literary staple, from Romulus, the demigod who slew his twin brother Remus to secure power in ancient Rome, through to outrageous storylines in soap operas. “You can take good or evil and talk about twins as complementary,Ž says Dr Segal. “But a lot of people have extended that to say there is a good twin and a bad twin in every twin relationship, and that is just pure myth." Gap in the market In recent years the number of multiple births has increased, due to the use of fertility treatments and mothers delaying childbirth until they are older. Today, about one in every 67 pregnancies results in a multiple birth. And businesses have responded accordingly. Greeting card makers offer congratulations on the arrival of multiples. Prospective parents can take out insurance to help cover the cost of more than one baby arriving at once. And supermarket trolleys no longer have just a single child seat.
This is down to efforts to make life easier for multiple birth families, says Keith Reed, chief executive of the Twins and Multiple Births Association (Tamba). It was 1993 before supermarkets began producing trolleys with seating for at least two children. “It was one of our first and most successful campaigns because it made such a difference. You could go out and take your children shopping and just lead a normal life.Ž But twins and other multiples are still unusual enough to give complete strangers licence to ask the most personal of questions, he says. “Twins are not uncommon, and yet people still react somewhat strangely towards them. The reserved British population seems to think they have the right to ask people how they conceived if they have got twins, which is something you would never dream of asking anyone else who is pregnant."
Claire and Michael Hall, of Newcastle, are all too familiar with this since becoming parents to Robbie and Isla in May 2006. “I felt really special when I told people I was having two, but you can tell people are trying to find out whether they were conceived through IVF or not, when it really should not matter. People are fascinated by them. Everywhere I go people look at them and says how gorgeous they are. Lots of people come up to me and say: ,I always wanted to have twins‘."
Because what‘s special is their strong bond. Dr Segal met identical twins who were brought up separately and reunited aged 31. The men - both firefighters - felt they were so alike there was no need to get acquainted. She says: “People are always searching for closeness and complete understanding. Tests show identical twins probably do have the closest social relationships of anyone."
