Читать книгу Double Trouble: Twins and How to Survive Them - Emma Mahony - Страница 18

When my husband told a West Indian client that his wife was expecting twins, the client slapped him on the back and shouted, ‘Congratulations! Mon, you shoot with double barrel, never miss – Bam! Bam!’ The Jamaican summed up the view that all men secretly share – that twins are an expression of a man’s (not a woman’s) fertility. I haven’t met a single father of twins who hasn’t puffed up his chest when remembering his own important walk-on part in the twin drama.

Of course, all women know that this Woody Allen view of sperm is ridiculous, and that all sorts of complicated factors are involved to make conception possible. However, there is no harm in encouraging this virile fantasy (and if that means suppressing the information that they are IVF, just carry on lying) because a swaggering partner in the early days is more likely to be a helpful one later on. All women know this instinctively, so you don’t really need to be told.