What’s going on in Exploring Early Childhood

In class students have been exploring prenatal issues and concerns that new mothers may face as they go through the process of pregnancy. Lately, exploring early childhood students have been learning about Intro-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), prenatal testing and most recently the formation of twins. 

Below we can see an example of an in-class activity delivered by Danielle and Elizabeth that explores the process of fraternal twins which is the result of two eggs being fertilised from conception. Each zygote (fertilised egg) will have their own placenta and amniotic sac as they develop within the mother’s womb. This can be shown below by the skittles representing the two embryos in their own amniotic sacs being the marshmallows on the plate that is figuratively representing a uterus. 

As there are two types of twins being Fraternal and Identical twins, Lana and Jacqueline had the pleasure of explaining the different stages in which the identical twin zygote splits into two embryos in their diagrams below. 

To understand the following photos, it’s important to note that the skittles represent the embryo, the sour worms represent the placenta, the marshmallows represent the amniotic sac and lastly, the plate is the mother’s womb. 

In the first photo, the single zygote has split into two embryos before implantation to the uterus wall occurring 1-3 days after fertilisation. This means the identical twins will have their own placentas and inner amniotic sac (amnion) within the womb.   

The second photo shows what would happen if the zygote splits after implanting to the uterus wall which can occur 3-8 days after fertilisation. Each twin will have their own inner sac (amnion) but will share a placenta within the womb. 

The final photo identifies when a zygote implants into the uterus lining and then splits within 8 to 15 days after fertilisation. This results in the twins sharing a placenta and amniotic sac throughout their growth and development within the womb for the period of 9 months. 

To wrap up this little lesson on twin development we would like to acknowledge that all lollies were consumed after the tutorial and that there will be more lessons to tune into as we further explore the early development of a child. 

Miss Breeze