Can conjoined twins get pregnant?

[furt]

I know they can father children, but are there any cases of female conjoined twins getting pregnant and giving birth?

And is "siamese" twins considered offensive?

[astro]

Depends on the type of cojoining -

Cojoined Twins (http://multiples.miningco.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.twinstuff.com/conjoined.htm)

Craniopagus Twins are joined at the cranium (the top of the head or skull). Occuring in just 2% of all conjoined twin cases, this is a very difficult type of twin to separate although advances in medicine have led to more than 35 successful separations. Two female craniopagus twins were successful separated in Lithuania in 1989, for example.

Thoraopagus The most common form of conjoined twins, occuring in between 35-40% of all cases. The twins share part of the chest wall, possibly including sharing the heart.

Pygopagus Twins are likely positioned back-to-back and usually have a posterior connecton at the rump. Occurs in almost 20% of documented cases.

Ischiopagus About 6% of all conjoined twins have this condition, with the twins joined by the coccyx (lowest part of the backbone) and the sacrum (backbone immediately above the coccyx).

Omphalopagus Twins are united from the waist to the lower breastbone, probably accounting for about 34% of conjoined cases.

Dicephalus One body with two separate heads and necks. Abigail and Brittany Hensel of the United States are an example of this very rare type of conjoined twin. The Tocci Brothers, Scottish Brothers and Ritta and Christina were also examples of this type of conjoined twin.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Why wouldn't they be able to? Unless their conjoining (or other conditions unrelated to their conjoining) affected their reproductive organs, it wouldn't make a bit of difference for their fertility.

Now their ability to carry to term and deliver would also be impacted by their conjoined status, but I expect every conjoined twin set would be a unique situation vis a vis fertility.

[sugaree]

There's a case discussed on another page of that site astro linked to: Josepha and Rosa Blazik (http://multiples.miningco.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.twinstuff.com/conjoined.htm) were joined at the hip (well, pelvis), but that didn't stop Rosa from giving birth in 1900. Sadly, the courts would not allow her and her baby daddy to wed.

Here (http://phreeque.tripod.com/louisel.html) and here (http://phreeque.tripod.com/myrtle_corbin.html) are stories of women with parasitic twins who married and had children. I guess they didn't have the problem Rosa had, or rather, that Josepha had- what to do with yourself while your conjoined twin has a moment of intimancy with her lover.

I think that there will be few cases of a conjoined twin giving birth because these twins have such a high infant and child mortality rate. Even today, the world's oldest unseparated pair are only in their early fifties. However, it does seem as if, over the years, male conjoined twins were more likely to marry than were female.

Yes, I don't think the term "Siamese twins" is used anymore. It's inaccurate. Chang and Eng Bunker were born in Siam; what does that have to do with any other pair of twins? Conjoined seems to be the preferred term.