identical twins

So now that I am going on 34 weeks and getting super anxious I am just curious about birth. I hear identicals are typically born earlier than frats, not always but usually it seems that women that do carry their twins to term are having frats..just curious if any of u could tell me your stories and if you have identicals... So far I have a very healthy pregnancy without concerns

 

My mono-di id boys were born at 38+5 by elective c-section - I showed no signs of going into labor prior to their scheduled arrival.

Good luck!

 

My mono-di girls arrived at 34+1. I'd been on bedrest since 27 weeks for a shortened cervix so felt very good about 34 weeks. Also, it meant I didn't have to fight with my OB about inducing at 36 weeks which is what she wanted to do & I was pretty set against. As we'd already been fighting non stop about her wanting me to have a ceserean birth, I was pretty exhausted by the whole thing. At any rate, labor began (more or less) spontaneously & the girls were both born vaginally & unmedicated which is what I had planned, fought & hoped for. It was an amazing experience! There were a lot of things about being in the hospital that annoyed the bejeebus out of me, but the actual physical process of giving birth was an amazing, powerful, overwhelming, intense & incredible experience.

 

Mono di girls, born at 30 weeks when my water broke.

 

Thanks for the.stories guys! I know that anything could happen at this point and I want them to stay in as long as possible but at the same time I am in so much pain ky back hurts terribly and my hips hurt to the point I can't roll over or even walk very far. I just want it to end..

 

My girls were mono-di and were born at 36+5 when I went into labor. My OB wouldn't let me go past 37 weeks because he said there was an increased risk for placenta deterioration for mono-di twins.

 

Was your labor spontaneous? Did u have any signs it was coming?

 

Are you seeing a chiro at all? By the end of my pregnancy I was going for weekly chiro & massage appointments. It was the only thing that helped my back & ligament pain. :hug: Hang in there! Even though each day feels like an eternity, those babes will be here in no time at all.

 

No I'm not the only thing I do is take warm baths almost every day..both boys are head down which I am very happy about bc I really want to deliver vaginally but it is doing a number on my pelvis

 

Mine were born at 36 weeks, 2 days due to one baby not growing much. We knew all along she had growth issues (cord implanted in membrane, not actual placenta) so it wasn't a surprise. Also, I was starting to develop Pre-E.

Hang in there! And I second the chiropractor and massage recommendation.

 

My di-di girls were born at 35wk 3 days. I was put on hospital bed rest at 29 weeks for Pre-E. I went into labor on my own in the middle of the night and even with baby B being breech was able to deliver vaginally with no pain medication. Hang in there!! And look into a chiropractor!! I really missed mine once I was in the hospital for those 2 months, they Can do wonders

 

I'm having moni/di and my doctor is still going to schedule me around 37 weeks. I'm going to ask nicely for 36w 4d so I can get out before Thanksgiving. I don't care about the actual holiday but I just figure I would waiting FOREVER for a doctor to come discharge me that day.

 

You can tell this isn't your first rodeo! Good thinking. That would never have occurred to me.

 

Ha! Yea, you definately learn with the more kids/hospital visits. Lol My goal is to never be in the hospital for discharge on a holiday or weekend. Doctors show up later.

 

I have mono-di girls, my water broke at 35 weeks. No signs of labor before that. I'm on the short side, 5'4" and by belly was from the top of my pubic bone to the bottom of my rib case so I think they just ran out of room. They were both over 5lbs and neither needed any special care. I did have steriod shots just in case.
As for back aches, I had a belly belt that I think really kept me from getting any. That and only wearing birkenstocks the entire pregnancy.

 

Had my di-di girls at 36w1d, but it was due to complications on my end, they were pretty cozy in there!

 

My mono/di boys were born at 37 weeks 1 day by scheduled c-section have being on bedrest from 24 weeks on due to PTL. My OB wanted me to go to 38 weeks however baby B started showing failure to thrive so out they came!

 

35 weeks and 6 days. My OB wanted to take me off work at 27 weeks, but I was in the middle of an internship and had to continue until I went into labor. I often wonder if I had listened to her that maybe I would have kept them in longer, but luckily we had no NICU time and great weights. There was some concern at the end about growth, but the ultrasounds were way wrong as they were 2 lbs heavier than expected. Good Luck!!

 

Monodi twins should be monitored my a specialist like a Perinatologist or MFM. Carrying mono di twins automatically makes you high risk. Many people and OBs just say "twin pregnancy." It is not a "regular" twin pregnancy.

My Peri Practice delivers mono di twins around 35 weeks as long as lungs are mature and do not go past 36 weeks as risks go way up of fetal demise after 32 weeks. I have spent countless hours researching this and the facts are facts.

There are many many articles on the subject but here is a good one to start with.


A New Study of Monochorionic Twins Top

In this issue of PLoS Medicine, Barigye et al. report the prospective risk of fetal death in uncomplicated monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies derived from a cohort of pregnancies that were managed at a single tertiary care referral center and that delivered after 24 weeks' gestation [9]. Patients were excluded from the study if the pregnancy was complicated by TTTS, monoamnionicity, intrauterine growth restriction, growth discordance, structural anomalies, or twin reversed arterial perfusion sequence. Conjoined twins and high-order multiples were also excluded. All patients with uncomplicated monochorionic twins were managed according to a standard protocol. They received first-trimester nuchal translucency assessment and chorionicity determination, a midtrimester anatomical survey, and fetal echo followed by growth scans, amniotic fluid assessment, and Doppler studies every two weeks. The rate of fetal death was derived for two-week periods starting at 24 weeks' gestation. The prospective risk of fetal death was calculated by determining the number of IUFDs that occurred within the two-week block divided by the number of continuing uncomplicated monochorionic twin pregnancies during that same time period.

There were ten unexpected deaths (three double IUFDs and four single IUFDs) in a total of seven (4.6%) of the 151 seemingly uncomplicated monochorionic diamniotic pregnancies. These IUFDs occurred at a median gestational age of 34 weeks 1 day (range 28 weeks 0 days to 36 weeks 3 days). Between 24 and 34 weeks' gestation, the prospective risk of fetal death varied between 1/22 and 1/30 pregnancies. After 32 weeks' gestation, the prospective risk of unexpected antepartum stillbirth was 1/23. In six out of the seven pregnancies, the fetal death was incidental and found on routine ultrasound. (One case presented with decreased fetal movement.) There were no significant differences between the IUFD-affected pregnancies and the unaffected pregnancies with regards to antenatal indicators of intrauterine growth restriction and TTTS. In three of the five pregnancies (autopsy was declined in two cases), deaths remained unexplained after autopsy. Two cases, both double IUFDs, exhibited signs of TTTS. The authors concluded that despite intensive fetal surveillance, uncomplicated monochorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies are at risk for unexpected intrauterine death. The deaths occurred in the third trimester and predominantly after 32 weeks' gestation. As a result, the authors suggested that after 32 weeks' gestation, the prospective risk for fetal death in these pregnancies might be eliminated by elective preterm delivery.


Implications of the Study Top

Despite the limitations of the study, which Barigye et al. elucidate well (small numbers, retrospective nature, lack of non-monochorionic twin comparative data), this study highlights an important question that many practicing obstetricians are confronting increasingly often: when is the ideal gestational age to deliver apparently uncomplicated monochorionic twins? The authors suggest that 32 weeks' gestation may be reasonable. At that gestational age, many of the risks associated with prematurity, such as intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, and respiratory distress syndrome, have abated.

Nonetheless, the risks of prematurity are not negligible at 32 weeks' gestation. Balancing the risk of iatrogenic preterm birth in an apparently uncomplicated monochorionic twin pregnancy with the risk of double IUFD or single IUFD with the concomitant risk of multicystic encephalomalacia for the surviving co-twin is challenging. In our practice, we have been conducting antenatal surveillance more frequently than once every two weeks, and we have been using the nonstress test in addition to ultrasound and Doppler studies. Although in our preliminary experience we have not had any unexplained IUFDs, we are uncertain if the frequency of testing could account for the prospective risk of fetal death found in the study by Barigye et al. In addition, we have been offering delivery of these apparently uncomplicated monochorionic twins at approximately 34 to 35 weeks' gestation following antenatal corticosteroid administration and thorough counseling regarding the risks of expectant management versus elective preterm delivery. While we acknowledge that our practice pattern is by no means a standard-of-care requirement, we feel it is a reasonable approach to this dilemma until larger, prospective observational studies have been conducted to better elucidate the natural history of these high-risk pregnancies and to better answer the question of when the ideal gestational age is to deliver apparently uncomplicated monochorionic twins.

 

My Mono - Mono (momo) girls were born at 34 weeks on the dot. I was inpatient bedrest from 28 weeks due to spacing and cord entaglement.

My peri, was very worried about them not being able to move and the cords being tangles, so I was on 24 hrs monitoring and had 30 min off for showers.

They were born at 3.6 and 3.11 lbs we had 17 days in NICU to regulate body temp with gavache tubes to reach the weight of 4 lbs and are now very healthy almost 8 lbs each and going on two months.

 

I'm 10 wks with my mono- Di twins and my obstetrician wants to induce me at 36 wks. I'd like to hang in to at least 37 so they are "full term" if I could, although my first bub came at 38 wks when my waters broke so she doesn't like my chances.