My roommate and I are having an argument about this. He contends that a woman can become pregnant and bear the children of two different men simultaneously, giving birth to 'twins'. I disagree, contending that this is a scientific impossibility, but he refuses to concede. The whole discussion was sparked over the news story about a set of twins that appear to be different races: one black, and one white. My explanation, not having watched the news program covering the issue, is that the couple must be interracial. He claims that the woman could have conceived with two men, either at the same time, or a day or two apart.
2006-10-26 16:00:31 · 22 answers · asked by ted_elton 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
You are absolutely correct regarding the news story you referred to. The couple was interracial. Both were mixed and yes, one of the children was "white" and the other was "black".
However, it is possible for a woman to bear the children of two different men simultaneously. I went to school with a guy and a girl that were "twins" but had different fathers. They found out by doing a paternity test(it was a big dramatic story...neither guy wanted to 'fess up to being the father of the two babies and it turned out that they were each the father of one of the twins)
The woman would have to release two eggs and have sex with two different guys but it is definitely possible even if it is extremely rare. Your roommate is correct on this one.
2006-10-26 16:09:42 · answer #1 · answered by "Urban" 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think I heard of this happening when I was watching divorce court on TV. The woman had fraternal twins but they had different fathers. Its really rare. 1 in 12 sets of fraternal twins have different fathers (the official term for it is bi-paternal, meaning two fathers). But fraternal twins make up 2% of the worlds population. And sex doesn't have to happen minutes apart for this to happen. It all has to do with ovulation, the amount of time it takes for each mans sperm to reach the egg, stuff like that. Like, if a woman had sex with more than one man several days before ovulation, the sperm will reach the fallopian tubes before the eggs get there and lie in wait. Once the egg arrives in the tube, it all depends on who's the lucky wiggle worm that makes it in the egg and fertilizes it. No matter how you look at it, its a very amazing occurance.
2016-03-28 08:50:42 · answer #2 · answered by Donna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the case you are referring to, one member of the couple was biracial. The twins have the same mother and father.
There have been cases where women have twins fathered by two different men. This will obviously happen only with fraternal twins, not with identical.
Sperm can live for several days in the reproductive tract. If a woman has sex with a man the day before she ovulates and a different man the day of ovulation and released two eggs... well sure, there you go, twins that are half-siblings.
2006-10-26 16:07:40 · answer #3 · answered by Shana 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is possilbe quite close to the other person who said two different eggs within 48 hours. I believe that the 48 hours doesn't matter, it just matters that there are two eggs and two sets of sperm. Usually the female body will stop releasing eggs if the body becomes pregnant but in rare occassions it happens that a second egg is released. Twins can be born with different due dates but be born from the same mother durring the same pregnancy.
2006-10-26 16:06:57 · answer #4 · answered by Nicholas C 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ive seen it done for a pair of gay men who wanted a child... it was all implanted so they knew one was from one daddy and the other from the other daddy
twins dont have to be identical or even the same gender to be considered twins just carried in the womb at the same time
2006-10-26 17:27:41 · answer #5 · answered by MaeStar 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes,it is possible.Almost unheard of but a couple of years ago there was a lady in Spain that gave birth to twin boys and one was white and one was black.They did paternity tests and found out they had different fathers.It was in the newspapers in Europe at the time.
2006-10-26 16:07:19 · answer #6 · answered by Jen 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes they can have different fathers if they are fraternal twins.
Fraternal twins are when there are two separate eggs usually ovulated a day apart to 10 days apart. have sex on Sun, ovulate Mon+ pregnant. Do the same the next week and you got yourself fraternal twins by two daddys!
It happened to my moms best friends' kid.
2006-10-26 16:06:31 · answer #7 · answered by Lesley C 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
It is possible to have twins from two different fathers. They are not actually twins, as they are not from the same "yolk" so to speak, but they are twins in the sense of being in the womb at the same time.
2006-10-26 16:03:04 · answer #8 · answered by *babydoll* 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes. It is very possible for a women to have twins with 2 different fathers. Althou it is very rare it has happened. Google search it and you will find many stories about it
2006-10-26 16:02:55 · answer #9 · answered by April S 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's absolutly possible! It's not probable, but possible. Think of fraternal twins. Two seperate eggs. So if you have two eggs and two guys' sperm all "swimming" around in there at the same time, it's possible that it could happen.
Then they wouldn't techincally be twins. They'd be half-siblings.
2006-10-26 16:09:15 · answer #10 · answered by yblur 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋