Conjoined Twins
By McKenzie Schaefer
What's the cause?
Conjoined twins happens when the embryo splits in the mother's womb, generally between 13 to 15 days after conception, and it stops spliting before the process is complete. This causes the twins to be conjoined.
How does it affect someone's body and mind?
Conjoined twins must be delivered by a C-Section. A good percentage of them do not survive. Not all can be seperated, depending on where they are conjoined. Therefore, some conjoined twins share their major organs, spinal chord, limbs, etc. T he mind is affected in a different way. Conjoined twins can have something called a "conjoined mind," meaning their minds recieve the sames thing, It comes with the ability to read each others mind and the sensory input travels to both brains.
Can it be cured, or are there treatments to help alleviate the symptoms?
Some conjoined twins can be cured through a seperation surgery. If they are attached by the spinal chord, the heart, or the brain they generally cannot in most cases. It is pretty untreatable besides the seperation surgery; it's just something you have to live with.
What sort of adaptions/changes can be made to the environment to help someone with this disability?
The parents of the conjoined twins would have to find the proper furniture and clothing for the kids. Also, they would have to be treated with compassion and care, but they would need to be treated like humans still.
What recent strides have been made in the research and awareness of this disability?
There are new cilinical trials taking place to help and prevent this disability. Clinical trials are medical research studies that invlove voluntary participants.
An interesting fact:
Each set of conjoined twins are always the same sex.