Vanishing Twins

Vanishing Twins, Soulmates and Chimeras

** Vanishing Twins & Womb Twin Survivors, a search for completion **

When a twin disappears, the surviving twin may develop emotional problems, even if the child is not told that a twin vanished.

The idea of vanishing twins may have began in ancient Greece. Over 2000 years ago, the philosopher Plato wrote that people are conceived perfect, and then split in half by Zeus. Plato described human loneliness, the desire for lost perfection and searching for twin souls … sometimes called twin flames.

… and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and one will not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment … Plato (340 BC)

Human twins and triplets are famous for a closeness that seems to begin in their mother’s womb. Although most people forget their pre-birth experience, most twins and triplets appear to share strong bonds throughout their lives. If a twin dies, the surviving twin will likely experience unpleasant consequences … such consequences may also occur if a twin dies before birth … in the womb.

Most multiple pregnancies result in single babies. Although modern ultrasound technology can identify multiple pregnancies very early in pregnancy, many doctors and technicians won’t tell the mothers, and may not record the existence of more than one fetus. They may avoid triggering feelings of grief and loss, knowing that later ultrasound scans will show mostly singletons.

When a twin disappears, the surviving twin may develop emotional problems, even if the child is not told that a twin vanished. Dr. William Baldwin wrote in “Spirit Releasement Therapy” that a dead twin attaches its soul to the surviving twin. Dr. Alice Rose wrote in “Coping with Eating Disabilities” that some eating disorders are the result of a twin dying in the womb due to competition for nourishment.

Dr. Michael Newton, author of “Destiny of Souls”, disagrees with the concept of twin souls. He reports that his clients have primary soul-mates rather than twin souls.

If a multiple pregnancy results in one living baby, the surviving child might feel that an important person is missing. Later in life, this may motivate a search for a missing soul twin or soul mate. Such searches seem common, often with high expectations of happiness and fulfillment. (We also find that people with aborted siblings often seek important missing people).

During a search for a soul mate, a sequence of potential perfect partners may be found – but then each person is rejected as inadequate. This transference of a missing or vanishing twin onto real people, and the subsequent rejection of those same people, can cause vast emotional suffering.

” Vanishing twin syndrome ” was described by Dr. Stoeckel in 1945 as multiple gestation with subsequent disappearance of one or more fetus. This syndrome is more often diagnosed if ultrasound is used during early pregnancy. Statistics vary, but about 90% of twins die or vanish before birth.

The twin conception rate may be as high as 30%, while the twin birth rate is about 3%.
This indicates a 1 in 3 chance that you once shared your mother’s womb with a twin.

The death of a fetal twin is a high risk factor for cerebral palsy. When a fraternal twin dies in the womb, the prevalence of cerebral palsy in a surviving twin is increased by a factor of 40 (8%, compared to an overall prevalence of 0.2%), apparently due to variations in the fetal blood supply.

Occasionally, a dead fetus may be ejected with afterbirth as a small cluster of dead tissues (fetus papyraceous). Sometimes, remains of the missing fetus are found within the womb twin survivor, perhaps in a teratoma tumor containing fetal tissues. More rarely, a baby’s skeleton is found on an x-ray of an adult or is discovered during surgery. Whichever way, the vanishing twin has … vanished.

2008: Dr. Paul Grabb, a pediatric surgeon, removed a tumor from the brain of a Colorado Springs infant. The tumor contained a tiny foot and other partially formed body parts.

If the fetus of a fraternal twin is assimilated by the other fetus, a chimera may be created.

A surviving twin may have different DNA in different parts of the body. Two eggs fertilized by two sperm cells create fraternal twins. If only one baby develops, with body cells from two different people … the result is called a chimera – a fusion of two fraternal twins.

A human chimera is a person with two sets of DNA. (Chimera such as human/rabbit or human/mouse hybrids are created by merging animal embryos with human stem cells.) The body cells work of a surviving chimera work together as if they were all from the same zygote. Sometimes a chimera has patchy skin or eyes of different colors or (rarely) is hermaphrodite. (a person or animal having both male and female sex organs or other sexual characteristics)

A human chimera may experience a conflict of identity. If a person has both male and female sexual cells, intersex sexual confusion or disorientation might be anticipated.

DNA testing can prove whether or not a person is a chimera.

Consequences of Missing, Dead or Vanishing Twins:

Some people unconsciously identify with a dead family member – especially when that person died in a way that induced guilt. This is common, for example, following a suicide or an abortion … or the death of a twin.

We find that womb twin survivors often show some of these  consequences: Avoids finishing projects
Cannot specify clear goals
Believes part of self is missing
Chronic melancholy or sadness
Fascinated or obsessed by twins
Sense of profound loss or loneliness
Immature, childish behavior
May be extremely sensitive to people
Risk of miscarriages or stillborn children
May seek a perfect partner or guardian angel
May be depressed – life may not make sense
May seek or cling to codependent relationships

Beliefs, Bonds & Soul Mates

We find that entanglement with a missing sibling may be expressed as behaviors based on emotions such as guilt, shame and sadness; and on unpleasant beliefs that can support inappropriate and dysfunctional behavior (e.g. obsessions, compulsions, eating disorders or hypochondria). E.g.:  I am abandoned and left alone
I am guilty for living – I cannot be happy
My search for my soul mate is my spiritual path
If I don’t find my soul mate I will always feel alone
I give my life energy to my soul mate / missing twin
These and similar beliefs seem common in people seeking soulmates. While being with a twin soul is often described as profoundly spiritual, intimate and inspirational, people we have met who proclaim their Soul Mate relationships often seem enmeshed in conditional love, symbiosis and codependence.