Does this mean they are mono?

I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks. It looks like both babies have a yoke sac but no wall between them. Is it too early to see the wall? I wish I could post a pic of the sonogram.

Ladyhawk

 

If they are in the same sac then they are identical, Mono-amniotic. Do they share the same placenta or do they have their own ? Congrats on your twins !!

 

The only time you're going to know 100% for sure that they are mono is after they are born and they do the pathology on the placenta. My two little boogers kept me all nervoud about TTTS the whole time, as the U/S tech SWORE up and down there was no division there. Guess what? Two that had fused.
Hang in there Mama.

 

QUOTE(ShannyBaby @ Jun 14 2009, 09:21 AM) [snapback]1353815[/snapback]
If they are in the same sac then they are identical, Mono-amniotic. Do they share the same placenta or do they have their own ? Congrats on your twins !!


I'm not sure.... I actually think my doctor was a little suprised, which made me a little nervous.
At six weeks we could only see the two yoke sacs and two heartbeats.

When I look online they are definately in one sac compared to the two sacs I've seen on other websites.

Does this mean identical? Can you have twins share one sac and be fraternal?

 

QUOTE(LadyHawk @ Jun 14 2009, 11:27 AM) [snapback]1353822[/snapback]
I'm not sure.... I actually think my doctor was a little suprised, which made me a little nervous.
At six weeks we could only see the two yoke sacs and two heartbeats.

When I look online they are definately in one sac compared to the two sacs I've seen on other websites.

Does this mean identical? Can you have twins share one sac and be fraternal?

I would definitely say they are identical based on the information you gave. However, before you freak out completely alot of the time you will see later on that they actually have two sacs (a separating membrane), and one placenta mono/di. I've read that it might take a few more ultrasounds before they see the separating membrane. So, hopefully they are mono/di and not mono/mono. But there are women on this site that have had mono/mono and mono/di who will be a great support to you.

No, you can't have twins share once sac and be fraternal. All fraternals are di/di two sacs and two placentas. Although the placentas might fuse and make them look like there is only one. Sure sign of being fraternal is a boy and a girl, but if you have two of the same sex it is possible that they might be identical or fraternal and still be di/di. My placenta looked like one at my 20 weeks u/s and beyond (that's when I found out about the twins). So when they were born the placenta was sent to pathology. It ended up being two placentas, but my boys looked alot alike so we had their DNA tested. And they are identical. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

BTW, CONGRATS on your twins!

 

QUOTE(pamallhoney @ Jun 14 2009, 10:33 AM) [snapback]1353864[/snapback]
I would definitely say they are identical based on the information you gave. However, before you freak out completely alot of the time you will see later on that they actually have two sacs (a separating membrane), and one placenta mono/di. I've read that it might take a few more ultrasounds before they see the separating membrane. So, hopefully they are mono/di and not mono/mono. But there are women on this site that have had mono/mono and mono/di who will be a great support to you.

No, you can't have twins share once sac and be fraternal. All fraternals are di/di two sacs and two placentas. Although the placentas might fuse and make them look like there is only one. Sure sign of being fraternal is a boy and a girl, but if you have two of the same sex it is possible that they might be identical or fraternal and still be di/di. My placenta looked like one at my 20 weeks u/s and beyond (that's when I found out about the twins). So when they were born the placenta was sent to pathology. It ended up being two placentas, but my boys looked alot alike so we had their DNA tested. And they are identical. I hope that wasn't too confusing.

BTW, CONGRATS on your twins!



Thanks for the info.

Looks like we are in the same boat.

Children
Sawyer (Boy) - 13
Kyler (Boy) - 9
Wren (Girl ) - 4
Brecken (Girl ) -2
Twins due on Feb 3rd 2010

 

Two yolk sacs mean it's unlikely that they are mono. Monoamniotic twins only have one yolk sac (there are exceptions though)

 

At 6 weeks they found 1 baby, then 2 weeks later they found the 2nd baby and they are in the same sac, they haven't found a dividing membrane. Sounds like the same diagnosis that we got, mo/mo...where there is one sac and one placenta.

 

Ok I found a site that shows my ultrasound perfectly and it states they are identical. My sono was just like the second one down on the page.




http://www.advancedfertility.com/ultraso1.htm

 

I wouldn't panic yet. When I had my early u/s with the twins they were so close together that the u/s tech couldn't tell if there was a dividing membrane or not...well, they wound up being frat twins who were just implanted pretty close together...obviously not even in the same sac! It could be that in another month an u/s will clearly show a membrane.

 

Congratulations on your twins!! Welcome to twinstuff! This is a great site, full of supportive and informative people.
My boys 1st u/s looked just like the picture you linked. They thought my boys were mo/mo at first but they found the separating membrane at around 7 or 8 weeks. The membrane is very hard to find and sometimes can't be found until you're further along. The membrane separating my boys was only ever seen at the peri's and it sometimes took them a while to find. My ob never found it on her u/s machine. It's also very rare to have a mo/mo pregnancy so the odds are in your favor. Congratulations again and keep us posted!

 

QUOTE(Jenn G @ Jun 14 2009, 06:48 PM) [snapback]1354315[/snapback]
Congratulations on your twins!! Welcome to twinstuff! This is a great site, full of supportive and informative people.
My boys 1st u/s looked just like the picture you linked. They thought my boys were mo/mo at first but they found the separating membrane at around 7 or 8 weeks. The membrane is very hard to find and sometimes can't be found until you're further along. The membrane separating my boys was only ever seen at the peri's and it sometimes took them a while to find. My ob never found it on her u/s machine. It's also very rare to have a mo/mo pregnancy so the odds are in your favor. Congratulations again and keep us posted!



OK...final question is.

If there is a membrane does this still mean they are identical or could they also be fraternal? The sac thing is really confusing me. I mean the fact that the picture looks like the second one on this website mean anything?

Thanks all

Ladyhawk

 

It is confusing!

Identical twins are can be di/di (two sac's and one placenta), mono/di (two sac's and one placenta) or mono mono (one sac and one placenta) - it depends on when your egg separated - early - di/di, mid - mono/di or late - mono mono.

Fraternal's are always di/di

From the ultrasound picture it looks like either mono/di or mono mono identical twins - however you can have fraternal's whose placenta's have joined together and they will look similar to this. The membrane that separates mono/di twins can be very very hard to see. It was explained to me like looking at plastic wrap in water! Mono mono's do not have this membrane. I would say as you have two yolk sac's (this is different to the sac's above) being mono mono is not likely and if a membrane hasn't been found it likely will be. Mono's are a higher risk pregnancy so having a membrane is a good thing!

Probably a good thing to keep in mind is that only 1-2% of identical twin pregnancies are mono mono and 85% of pregnancies identified as mono mono are misdiagnosed.

 

QUOTE(LadyHawk @ Jun 15 2009, 12:07 AM) [snapback]1354440[/snapback]
OK...final question is.

If there is a membrane does this still mean they are identical or could they also be fraternal? The sac thing is really confusing me. I mean the fact that the picture looks like the second one on this website mean anything?

Thanks all

Ladyhawk


mono/di- the babies share a placenta (monochorionic) but they have their own amniotic sac (diamniontic) and the membrane is what separates them and they're always identical.
mono/mono- they share a placenta (monochorionic) AND they share an amniotic sac (monoamniotic) and there is NO membrane to separate them and they're always identical.
di/di- these babies have their own everything- sac and placenta. They can be identical depending on when the egg split, but most are frats.


It is definitely confusing but I think that the fact that your u/s pic at this point looks like that one on the link you posted most likely means they're identical. I believe at this early stage if they weren't identical it would be very obvious- each baby would have it's own little "black hole" of space and a membrane would be very visible- if that makes sense. My us pic looked just like that link and I was told from that point (6 weeks 1 day) that they were identical.

 

I had mono/di girls and the membrane wasn't visible until I went in for an ultrasound at about 13 weeks. After the original us at the OB's office (6 weeks), all mine were done at the hospital because the staff there has more experience reading them. Good luck!

 

Since you're 6 weeks and they're seeing two babies in one gestational sac, you've got an identical twin pregnancy (you can have a dichorionic/diamniotic identical twin pregnancy, but you'd see two gestational sacs). You are still too early to see a dividing membrane. At my 6w6d u/s, they saw one gestational sac and two yolk sacs/babies (the # of yolk sacs correlates well with the # of amniotic sacs). At about 9 weeks, they found my membrane (they found it transvaginally -- abdominally didn't pick it up).
And, as someone else said, the odds are highly in your favor, statistically speaking, for a mono/di pregnancy.

 

:banana: :banana: Congratulations on your twin pregnancy!! :banana: :banana:

I'd say identical from your description. I agree with other posters......the membrane may be seen at a later u/s or maybe not at all. Mine was thin and wispy at my first u/s at 10 weeks gestation. At my 12 week u/s it was hard for the technician to see the membrane, it showed up in bits and pieces, I was told it was a strong possibility they were identical. It wasn't until after their birth that the pathology report came back that there was only one placenta, therefore they are identical.

:clapping: :clapping: Lots of best wishes for a happy, healthy twin pregnancy and beyond!! :clapping: :clapping:

 

QUOTE
Two yolk sacs mean it's unlikely that they are mono. Monoamniotic twins only have one yolk sac (there are exceptions though)
actually there is always a yolk sac for each baby.It eventually becomes part of the baby.It is what feeds the baby until the placenta is developed.When I found out i was having twins thats how the dr told me that there was 2 yold sacs and to come back in 1 week and we would see if they would turn into 2 babies which they did.I have two identical twin girls(confirmed by DNA test)Did u mean amniotic sacs?

 

Your situation is very similar to my twin pregnancies. We found two heartbeats around 7 weeks but the girls were in one sac. The membrane can form and you can't always see it early on. We were lucky enough to pick up the membrane 2 weeks later, but it can take longer to see as other people have said. You don't have to panic yet. Best of luck and keep us posted!

 

QUOTE(Chloe_and_Leahs_mommy @ Jun 16 2009, 02:52 AM) [snapback]1355910[/snapback]
actually there is always a yolk sac for each baby.It eventually becomes part of the baby.It is what feeds the baby until the placenta is developed.When I found out i was having twins thats how the dr told me that there was 2 yold sacs and to come back in 1 week and we would see if they would turn into 2 babies which they did.I have two identical twin girls(confirmed by DNA test)Did u mean amniotic sacs?


With identical twins, there can be one yolk sac or two yolk sacs. I read this over and over when researching the likelihood of mono-mono. Here is some info from pregnancy-info.net: "Recent research has shown a correlation between the number of yolk sacs present in pregnancy and the number of amniotic sacs twins will have. The yolk sac forms just after conception occurs and is thought to play a role in nourishing the developing embryo. With twins, there can be one yolk sac or two yolk sacs."

 

QUOTE(Chloe_and_Leahs_mommy @ Jun 16 2009, 02:52 PM) [snapback]1355910[/snapback]
actually there is always a yolk sac for each baby.It eventually becomes part of the baby.It is what feeds the baby until the placenta is developed.When I found out i was having twins thats how the dr told me that there was 2 yold sacs and to come back in 1 week and we would see if they would turn into 2 babies which they did.I have two identical twin girls(confirmed by DNA test)Did u mean amniotic sacs?


Actually with mono's early ultrasounds will often show only 1 yolk sac. There is always exceptions of course but generally two yolk sacs will mean that there are two amniotic sac's. You have di/mo's hence two yolk sacs and two amniotic sac's.

 

QUOTE(Jocasta @ Jun 16 2009, 02:37 PM) [snapback]1356863[/snapback]
Actually with mono's early ultrasounds will often show only 1 yolk sac. There is always exceptions of course but generally two yolk sacs will mean that there are two amniotic sac's. You have di/mo's hence two yolk sacs and two amniotic sac's.



Ditto!

 

QUOTE
Actually with mono's early ultrasounds will often show only 1 yolk sac. There is always exceptions of course but generally two yolk sacs will mean that there are two amniotic sac's. You have di/mo's hence two yolk sacs and two amniotic sac's.

ur correct.I was feeding a baby and didn't read ur reply completley before I answered sorry

 

QUOTE(Chloe_and_Leahs_mommy @ Jun 15 2009, 09:52 PM) [snapback]1355910[/snapback]
actually there is always a yolk sac for each baby.It eventually becomes part of the baby.It is what feeds the baby until the placenta is developed.When I found out i was having twins thats how the dr told me that there was 2 yold sacs and to come back in 1 week and we would see if they would turn into 2 babies which they did.I have two identical twin girls(confirmed by DNA test)Did u mean amniotic sacs?


Actually, momo twins DO NOT have their own yolk sac. There is only one. I know that is how they encourage people early on that they probably do not have mo mo twins because TWO yolks were seen on early u/s.

 

I was 21 weeks - and had 6 or 7 ultrasounds - before the peri I was referred to saw a membrane. I am now 28 weeks and it has been easier to see at every visit since then.

 

We had the same thing at our first US at 7 and 1/2 weeks. We worried about it until the next US at 10 weeks...and there it was! Don't worry...it's too early to tell if they are monoamniotic.

 

From what I have been told the earlier the ultrasound the easier it is to determine mono/di vs. di/di. I had an ultrasound at 9 weeks and it was pretty clear that the babies had their own amniotic sacs but were sharing the chorion (outer wall). They were two little "beans" each inside their own little bubble surrounded by one big bubble. So right from the start they have said mine were mono-di. I have posted a link to my early u/s for you to see. The di-di u/s I have seen have looked like two babies in two completely different "big bubbles" seperated by a thick lining. Hope this helps a little bit and good luck with your pregnancy.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g59/j_j0...ncy/Image22.jpg