Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2014
A survey has been made of the birth records of 846 twins (415 pairs and 6 sets of triplets) born in Catania between January 1st, 1959 and May 31st, 1962, with the purpose of establishing the degree of mortality in twins in the first year of life. The results indicate a low degree of still-birth (5%). Identifying the neonatal period with the first week of life, the neonatal mortality is of 8.9%. This percentage undergoes a little reduction (1.9%) when we consider as neonatal period just the first day of life, the twin mortality being lower in the subsequent days of the first week. Except that of the 1st day, the higher frequency of mortality (19%) occurs between the 12th and the 16th day, which is considered a critical period in the first month of life in twins. In the remaining 11 months of the year the mortality degre is low (51 deaths in 680 twins survived to the first month). At the end of the year in 63.1% of the considered pairs both twins were still alive. In six of the 43 pairs with both components dead, both twins died between the 13th and the 25th day, with an interval of 24 hours. The spontaneous death of twin pairs, occurring sometimes simultaneously or with a brief interval in the first month of life, may give rise to judiciary mistakes.