ABSTRACT
During the first siblings Conference, Alessandra Piontelli had been unable to attend as planned. The presentation consisted of film of ultra-sound scans of twins in utero followed by later film as infants and toddlers. The morning was an interactive event rather than a lecture, and the audience was engaged and questioning. Many members of the audience acknowledged that they were either twins, or the parents of twins. The first film showed the splitting of the fertilised egg. Wakefulness begins at 36/37 weeks. Piontelli distinguished wakefulness from consciousness. Piontelli suggested that voice recognition begins later in pregnancy, as the foetus is preparing for birth. Mono-chorionic twins tend to create more anxiety because in the event of the death of one twin, the surviving twin is at risk of brain damage or death. An ultrasound film showed a new pair of monozygotic twins in very close proximity.
