Umbilical Cords and Multiples

February 8, 2004 8:09 PM

How do umbilical cords work with twins? Triplets? Quadruplets? Do they come out like a string of pearls? What about puppies and kittens: do they come out with umbilical cords? The whole litter?
posted by adrober to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

I don't understand exactly what you're asking.

As a kid, I used to watch baby piglets being delivered on my grandmothers farm. It was usually an all-night affair. The piglets would come out one at a time, spaced apart sometimes by as much as an hour or so.

Of course, they each had their own umbilical cord which we severed. The umbilical cord is an individual attachment to the mother.
posted by vacapinta at 8:25 PM on February 8, 2004

It depends on whether the kids are arranged in series or in parallel.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:28 PM on February 8, 2004

" Identical twins often share the same placenta, usually have separate amniotic sacs, and always have their own umbilical cord. Nonidentical twins have separate placentas, amniotic sacs, and umbilical cords." - americanpregnancy.org

Kittens and puppies are similar to nonidentical twins apparently: "one placenta for each kitten" - kittening, part I

all courtesy of google.
posted by jerseygirl at 8:29 PM on February 8, 2004

adrober, are you thinking children come out arrayed like a SCSI chain? I swear I'm not making fun, but: ha!!

Thanks for the grin.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 5:52 AM on February 9, 2004

Response by poster: Well we were watching "sex and the city" last night and Charolette's dog had pups and they all came out and I was like: "When dogs give birth do the puppies have umbilical cords?" And everyone stared at me kinda stunned. "Are they all connected?" Everyone shushed me.

But thanks to AskMeFi my (admittedly stupid) question has been answered. :)
posted by adrober at 10:52 AM on February 9, 2004