Mixed race couple gives birth to black and white twins for the second time (years, early)
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They like to say their family is two in a million.
For Alison Spooner and her partner Dean Durrant's offspring have defied the odds - not once, but twice. [LEFT]
Seven years after having one black twin and one white twin, the 27-year-old mother has given birth to a second set of twins with different coloured skin at odds of one in 500,000.
When the couple's first daughters arrived in 2001, they were astonished to see that Lauren had her mother's blue eyes and red hair, while her twin Hayleigh had dark skin and hair, like her father, Dean.
So when Miss Spooner, from Fleet, in Hampshire, found out she was pregnant again this year, her friends and family joked that they ought to take a bet out on the same thing happening again.
So when Miss Spooner, from Fleet, in Hampshire, found out she was pregnant again this year, her friends and family joked that they ought to take a bet out on the same thing happening again.
I don't think it's strange. The father is clearly mixed race himself. I would think that plays a huge role in the children's genetics being so diverse. Add that to being married to a woman who is genetically predisposed to dropping more than one egg, and the odds of having twins with a different race isn't as high as the odds for the general population.
I saw that when it first came out over a year ago....I wonder how they look now!
My husband is black and I am white and you can tell our kids are definitely mixed, but they look just alike! Well except our daughter's eyes are basically deep gray while our son's are dark brown like daddy.
So the story here isn't race, but really just that one couple has had two sets of fraternal twins, right? And that in both cases the kids inherited different appearance-related traits like skin color, hair, or eye color? And the news stories just talk about the parents being "black" and "white," but that's all pretty vague, too, when it comes to genetics, and many of us are carrying recessive genes that would surprise us (someone from a family with all brown eyes having a blue eyed child, for example). Obviously rare, and a great photo opportunity, but it doesn't seem shocking.
I'd also be curious to know more about the statistics in general. The number of women who are naturally predisposed to having twins isn't that high, and within that population how many of them are married to men of different races, and are being studied? In the US, anyway, it hasn't been that long since interracial marriage was illegal in some parts of the country, and uncommon many other places. I would assume that as time goes on then the pool of women having multiple sets of twins with men of a different race will go up, and then they'll be able to have increasingly accurate statistics drawn from a larger pool. Then again, I'm no scientist, so maybe that's not the case at all.
I'd also be curious to know more about the statistics in general. The number of women who are naturally predisposed to having twins isn't that high, and within that population how many of them are married to men of different races, and are being studied?
Exactly. That's what I meant by my post.
Add to it how many women predisposed to having twins are married to men of mixed race.
I really think the fact the father is mixed race increases the chances of diversity among the offspring.
I agree and the father looks as he is mixed race. Maybe one of the fathers parent is a redhead too. It also probably a factor on why 2 of the children turned out white in appearance with red hair. However with this case it is very rare indeed.
Last edited by other99; 02-12-2010 at 05:56 PM..
Reason: edit
But I have heard of a case where a white couple gave birth to a baby that was not white and that was in South Africa under apartheid. The baby did not at all look like their parents and the child was classified as coloured, the parents had a real hard time to convince people it was their child. Anyway it was due to both parents having some ansestors that were non white.
I really don't see the "story" here.... Like others have said, the dad is clearly bi-racial. The first set of twins? The darker girl wouldn't pass for "black". She has straight hair and olive skin. If a person saw her alone, they would probably think she was hispanic or maybe Italian. There is nothing about her that makes her appear "black".
The second set of twins? They aren't that far apart in skin color, either. Yes, pigmentation continues for a couple of months but the so-called "black" one has no "black" characteristics at all.
I think this is just like any other family that has fraternal twins --- one may take after mom, the other after dad. Or one could look like great Aunt Eloise and the other like Grandpa Joe..... Genetics is genetics. There is really nothing so spectacular about this story other than they have 2 sets of twins (and, in this day of IVF, etc, is that REALLY that rare????)
I really don't see the "story" here.... Like others have said, the dad is clearly bi-racial. The first set of twins? The darker girl wouldn't pass for "black". She has straight hair and olive skin. If a person saw her alone, they would probably think she was hispanic or maybe Italian. There is nothing about her that makes her appear "black".
The second set of twins? They aren't that far apart in skin color, either. Yes, pigmentation continues for a couple of months but the so-called "black" one has no "black" characteristics at all.
I think this is just like any other family that has fraternal twins --- one may take after mom, the other after dad. Or one could look like great Aunt Eloise and the other like Grandpa Joe..... Genetics is genetics. There is really nothing so spectacular about this story other than they have 2 sets of twins (and, in this day of IVF, etc, is that REALLY that rare????)
Well the darker girl does not look Italian, as I for years lived in the city where at least 10% of the population had Italian heritage. She could pass for Puerto Rican. Puerto Ricans anyway are a mixed race group of people.
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