‘It makes it easy to tell them apart!’ Proud mother reveals surprise after her mixed race twins were born with DIFFERENT colour skin tones and hair
- Kayleigh Okotie, 32, from London, revealed surprise over her twins appearance
- Jaziyah was born with fair skin while sister Naylah is darker with a curly mop
- Mother said she did not realise how different her twins appeared at first
- Kayleigh revealed the twins also have ‘completely different personalities’
A proud mother has revealed her surprise after her mixed race twins were born with different colour skin tones and hair.
Kayleigh Okotie, 32, from London, is mixed race, while her partner Jordan King is black, and was stunned when her children were born at Homerton University Hospital.
Because of a genetic quirk, Jaziyah was born with fair skin and straight hair while his sister Naylah is darker with a curly mop.
Kayleigh revealed many people tell her they look like ‘chalk and cheese’, and told The Sun: ‘They have completely different personalities, which is amazing to see as they’re only four months old.’
Kayleigh Okotie, 32, from London, has revealed her surprise after her mixed race twins were born with different colour skin tones and hair
Because of a genetic quirk, Jaziyah was born with fair skin and straight hair while his twin sister Naylah is darker with a curly mop
After a long labour Kayleigh, and scaffolder Jordan did not notice how different their twins looked until the next day at Homerton University Hospital.
She said that after her exhausting labour, she gave them a cuddle and fell asleep ‘almost immediately.’
The mother, whose own parents are English and Nigerian, said she had ‘never thought’ the twins could end up with different skin tones.
She revealed it was ‘a shock’ how different her two children appeared to be.
Kayleigh revealed many people tell her the children look like ‘chalk and cheese’, and said they have completely different personalities
She explained: ‘Even the nurses in the maternity wing were cooing over them and saying how special they were because they’d never seen anything like it before.’
What are the chances?
Each year, around 12,000 sets of twins are born in Britain.Of these, 385 of them are black or mixed race.
The odds of a mixed race couple having twins of dramatically different colour are a million to one.
Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together.
If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin.
Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm.
When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race.
But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin colour.
If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white.
And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black.
For a mixed-race couple, the odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one.
But both scenarios can occur at the same time if the woman conceives non-identical twins – another 100 to one chance.
This involves two eggs being fertilised by two sperm at the same time, which also has odds of around 100 to one.
If a sperm containing all-white genes fuses with a similar egg, and a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different skin colours are born.
Meanwhile Kayleigh said the pair had already developed different personalities, with Jaziyah a ‘laid back’ baby, while Naylah is ‘a bit fussier’.
Despite their differences, Kayleigh said she can see ‘little things’ which make the twins similar, including their ‘chocolate brown eyes’.
She revealed her four other children aged six, seven, 13 and 15, who are from a previous relationship, are all smitten with their new baby brother and sister.
Calling it ‘a full house’, she said they are ‘really excited’ about their new siblings and often help out looking after them.
She added: ‘The twins are never short of attention, and are never bored with so many people around to play with and help look after them.’
The odds of a mixed race couple having twins of dramatically different colour are a million to one.
Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together.
If a woman or man is of mixed race, their eggs or sperm will usually contain possible genes coding for black and white skin which, if they come together, will create a baby of mixed race.
But, on rare occasions, the egg or sperm might just have coding for one skin colour.
If this is the case in both the egg and the sperm, the baby will be white, or all black – depending on what coding the egg or sperm had.
The odds of either of these scenarios is around 100 to one for a mixed-race couple.
But, if the woman conceives non-identical twins, both scenarios can occur at the same time.
There is about another 100 to one chance of this happening.
This involves two eggs being fertilised by two sperm at the same time – which also has odds of around 100 to one.
If a sperm containing all-white genes then fuses with a similar egg, while a sperm coding for purely black skin fuses with a similar egg, two babies of dramatically different skin colours will be born.
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