UNBORN twin babies start socializing with each other from the 14th week onwards, according to a new study.
Italian researcher Dr. Umberto Casteiello of the University of Padova and associates undertook the study to see how twins interacted with each other in their mother’s wombs and to determine if the interaction was intentional or accidental.
They used an advanced method of ultrasonography which enables the movements of the babies to be recorded over time in 3D, to study five pairs of twins from a sample of low-risk pregnant women.
In the preamble of the report, Dr. Castiello says: “Newborns come into the world wired to socially interact.”
“Unlike ordinary siblings, twins share a most important environment – the uterus. If a predisposition towards social interaction is present before birth, one may expect twin fetuses to engage in some form of interaction,” the researchers say.
They conclude that performance of movements towards the co-twin is not accidental.
“Starting from the 14th week of gestation, twin fetuses plan and execute movements specifically aimed at the co-twin,” they wrote in the report. “When the context enables it, as in the case of twin fetuses, other-directed actions are not only possible but predominant over self-directed actions.”
The findings provided evidence that unborn babies are very much aware of their surroundings and of the presence of a twin with them in their mother’s womb, the report added.
