When Britty and Abby were born in 1990, doctors disagreed on whether the twins could or should be separated. Other ones are not separable, period," Dr. "Certain kinds of conjoined twins have such little overlap that they can be separated with no risks. Geoffrey Machin, an expert on conjoined twins, there are no general rules. Deciding whether to perform such a tricky operation is difficult for parents and doctors. Sometimes conjoined twins can be separated after birth. Scientists think those that start to separate late-say, after 12 days-are more likely to stay partly joined. The zygotes that separate to form regular identical twins usually split within the first few days of pregnancy. Scientists are not sure why this happens. But sometimes-as in Britty and Abby's case-the zygote doesn't fully separate. When the zygote splits completely in half, each "half" develops into a separate identical baby. Like regular identical twins, they form when a newly fertilized egg, or zygote, splits inside a woman's womb (see diagram, p. Benjamin Carson of Johns Hopkins Children's Center speculates that Britty and Abby have managed so well because their nervous systems may be somewhat connected too. How did they learn to walk, swim, and ride a bike? Dr. Britty's brain controls the left side of the body, while Abby has command of the right. What do they do then? "We flip a coin," says Abby.ĭoctors aren't sure how the girls, with separate brains, coordinate their movements. For example, sometimes they want to play with different toys. For example, to cut out paper dolls, one twin holds the paper, while the other uses the scissors.īut sometimes the girls don't want to do the same thing. They prefer to do some projects together, though. They attend a regular school, and each does her own school work. Most of their completely shared organs lie below the waist (see diagram, right).īritty and Abby lead relatively normal lives. The girls share three or four lungs (doctors don't know for sure), which provide plenty of oxygen for both twins. They also have separate spinal columns, though these are joined at the pelvis. These shared organs are often malformed and may not be strong enough to support both twins.īut Britty and Abby each has her own head, heart, and stomach, which function normally. That's because conjoined twins often share vital organs, like a heart or brain. Only about 40 sets are born in the United States each year. They're conjoined twins-identical twins who are physically connected to each other.Ĭonjoined twins like Britty and Abby are rare. But unlike most twins, Britty and Abby share parts of the same body. Like most identical twins, the Hensel girls look very much alike. That's what life is like for six-year-old Brittany and Abigail Hensel. You do everything else together, too, even sitting on the same chair at lunch and riding on the same bicycle. To get dressed and tie your shoes, you use one hand and she uses another. Imagine this: You wake up each morning to find your sister lying beside you. What's it like to have a sibling constantly at your side? For six-year-old Brittany and Abigail Hensel, its perfectly normal.
#Abby and brittany hensel baby free
The twins were diagnosed after the former RSPCA worker was taken into hospital in Portsmouth last Wednesday with back pain. Ms Chamberlain, from Ports-mouth, told the Sunnewspaper: “To me, my twins are a gift from God and we’re determined to give them a chance of life.”
Ms Chamberlain, a Catholic, said doctors advised her to have an abortion but this was ruled out after discussing the matter with her husband. Lisa Chamberlain (25) had a scan last week which showed her embryo had two heads and one body – making them dicephalus twins. A woman pregnant with a rare form of conjoined twins spoke yesterday of her desire to see them born.