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Last Updated on October 31, 2025 by Grace Oluchi
Can a twin eat the other twin?
Listen. I was today years old when I realized the body can betray itself this early.
Not like, “Oops! I broke a nail.” No. I’m talking full-blown biological betrayal.
One baby. Eating the other. In the WOMB.
Read that again and tell me that’s not horror film energy.
You think your childhood trauma’s bad? Imagine finding out you were supposed to be a twin…but your sibling got eaten before y’all even had birthdays. Yeah. This isn’t just a “fun fact” for TikTok. This is the kind of thing you process in therapy.
A twin can absorb another in the womb through vanishing twin syndrome, affecting up to 36 percent of twin pregnancies per 2025 data. It’s not literal eating—more like quiet reabsorption—but it leaves emotional echoes, with some survivors carrying remnants like in fetus in fetu cases. Biology’s wild side, backed by fresh studies.
📋 Table of Contents
The Key Takeaway
Yes, a twin can absorb another twin in the womb. But no, babies don’t “bite” or “chew” each other. It’s not like they’re fighting for the last slice of cake. It’s weirder, deeper, and way more emotionally messy than that. It’s about survival, timing, and the body being more savage than we like to admit.
A March 2025 mixed-methods study explored patient experiences, finding many survivors feel a lingering sense of loss, even if unaware until later. In the US and UK, where twin births rose 70 percent since 1980, this hits closer to home for one in 250 pregnancies.
Why a Baby Can’t Literally Eat the Other Baby in the Womb
First, let’s clear the air. Because I know your brain is already picturing two little fetuses in a boxing ring, one winning, one getting swallowed like jollof rice.
That’s not how it works. There’s no womb-Hunger Games happening. No tiny teeth. No fetal buffet.
This thing is way more… quiet.
Sometimes, when a woman’s pregnant with twins, especially super early, the body just… absorbs one. The other twin? Keeps growing. The vanished one is just GONE. No gravestone. No funeral. Not even a sign.
Doctors call it “vanishing twin syndrome.”
(Which honestly sounds like a trick. Except it’s real. And it’s painful. And no one really talks about it.)
So, early in the pregnancy, one embryo stops developing. The body then absorbs the tissue. Just takes it back. Like a refund.
“Oops, never mind.”
And the remaining twin grows up alone. And what’s even more twisted is that most people never find out.
A July 2025 WebMD update notes about 36 percent of twin pregnancies see this, often before 12 weeks, with no symptoms for the mom. An August 2025 study stressed better early scans could spot it, but communication gaps leave families in the dark. In the UK, NHS guidelines now push for chorionicity checks at 11-14 weeks to catch risks early.
“Eaten” Isn’t Always the Right Word, but Emotionally? It Fits
Look, medically speaking, nothing is “eating” anyone. It’s absorption. Biology. Blah blah.
But emotionally, let’s not pretend it doesn’t feel like an ambush.
A March 2025 review in Twin Research and Human Genetics highlighted how survivors often report unexplained grief or duality feelings, tying back to this early loss. US surveys from 2025 show 20 percent of those diagnosed later seek therapy for “phantom twin” vibes.
The Most Disturbing Part: Some People Carry Their Twin’s Remains in Their Body
No I’m not joking. I wish I was actually joking.
There are rare cases where what’s left of the other twin doesn’t vanish. It stays. Inside. Sometimes as tissue, sometimes as cysts, and sometimes as fully-formed weird structures like hair and teeth.
Yeah. Hair and teeth. Tell me biology isn’t a psychopath.
It’s called “fetus in fetu.”
Translation: One twin lives. The other becomes a guest that never leaves.
And in some cases?
The surviving baby doesn’t find out until YEARS later. Like they’re in their twenties or thirties and just casually learn they’ve been carrying their twin their whole life. Like an internal ghost.
An October 2025 case in the Journal of Surgical Case Reports detailed an 11-day-old with abdominal FIF, confirmed via imaging—hair, bones, the works. A February 2025 PubMed report on autopsy-hidden FIF urged routine checks, noting 1 in 500,000 odds but rising detections with better tech. In the US, Mayo Clinic logs 200+ cases since 2000, many discovered during unrelated scans.
Pregnancy Is Not a Joke
We think birth is this beautiful, miracle-filled experience. But sometimes, it’s war. Quiet war. Survival-of-the-quietest.
One twin lives. The other… disappears.
Not because they were weak. Not because they weren’t worthy. Just… because the body said so.
A September 2025 DrOracle piece warned of neonatal risks like low birth weight in survivors, up 10-15 percent per recent meta-analyses. UK data from 2025 echoes this, with vanishing twins linked to slight preterm rises.
You Wanna Know What’s Crazier?
Some people who’ve absorbed their twin become OBSESSED with duality.
Split personalities. Talking to themselves. Feeling like they’ve “got someone else in there.”
Coincidence? Or is the body holding memories we’ll never understand?
I’m writing this in the middle of the night and the hair on the back of my neck is standing. I’m not about to have bad dreams, bye!
A 2023 Counselling Directory overview, updated in 2025 forums, links womb twin loss to higher anxiety or identity issues in 15-20 percent of cases. While no direct 2025 causation study exists, eLife’s 2021 work (revisited 2025) suggests early loss amps psychiatric risks 1.5-2 times vs. singleton losses.
Quick Summary
Vanishing twin syndrome absorbs one embryo early, hitting 36 percent of twins quietly. Fetus in fetu leaves remnants like teeth inside—discovered years later. Emotional weight lingers; 2025 studies push better talks and scans for US/UK families.
References and Studies
Full list of sources used. All links checked and active as of October 31, 2025:
Mental health implications for womb twin survivors (Jan 2023, updated 2025). Counselling Directory Link
Addressing Patient-Provider Communication Gaps in Vanishing Twin Syndrome (Aug 2025). PubMed Link
The Experiences of Patients With Vanishing Twin Syndrome (Mar 2025). Cambridge Link
What is a vanishing twin (Sep 2025). DrOracle Link
Vanishing Twins: What Causes the Loss of One Baby (Jul 2025). WebMD Link
Fetus in fetu: the importance of autopsy (Feb 2025). PubMed Link
Fetus-in-fetu in an 11-day-old female infant (Oct 2025). OUP Link
