Twins

Hi! I just found out I am pregnant a week ago. Just had our first ultrasound to figure out the expected due date (which is April 28th)... however there are two babies in there! They are in their own amniotic sacs but there is only one placenta. We haven't gotten to see the doctor yet after the ultrasound but I am worried: shouldn't there be 2 placentas?

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
You are having ID twins, usually, with two sacs and sharing a placenta, they are identical, in my case anyway
Wishing you a very happy and healthy pregnancy!!

 

You have mono/di twins (monochoronic/diamonotic). When you have one placenta and two amniotic sacs, your twins are identical. Identical twins have increased risks as compared to fraternal or di/di twins. The biggest risk to mono/di twins is twin to twin transfusion syndrome. Another risk is unequal placenta sharing (my twins are experiencing this- one is growing at a faster rate than the other, but for now, both are healthy).

You should consult a perinatologist or MFM with experience with identical twins as your pregnancy will need increased monitoring (esp from weeks 16-24, when most cases of twin to twin transfusion syndrome are detected). I was seen every 2 weeks or even sometimes every week during this period.

The odds are with you that you will have an uneventful pregnancy, so try not to stress yourself out too much. Identical twins are incredibly special- best of luck to you! Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

:welcome: and congrats! If it is truly one placenta, you are having IDs!

 

Like pp's said youare having ID twins, congrats. Make sure that you have weekly ultrasounds starting at 16 weeks to monitor for twin to twin transfusion syndrome. It is rare, but can happen (did to me) If it does there are treatments, which is why close monitoring is key. I would see a high risk doc.

 

:welcome: to TS! Congratulations on your twins!

 

CONGRATS! My twins are identical and they too had 2 sacs but one placenta. Mine did end up with Twin to Twin Trasnfsuion and now they are happy and healthy 7 year olds. It is a wild ride! Congrats again!

 

:clapping: :clapping: Ours were mono/di also. Congratulaitons on your identical twins. :clapping: :clapping: ​

 

Congratulations on your twins!! Like everyone else said- one placenta means identical twins- so you'll be having either 2 boys or 2 girls! My boys were also mono/di and I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy. I had u/s every 2 weeks to monitor for TTTS but that is a rare condition that only effects (I believe) 10% of mono/di pregnancies. If you have any questions- come here- DO NOT google! There are a lot of informative people on here who have been where you are right now! Congrats again!!

 

Congratulations :Clap: , we are in the same boat, with B/B mono/di twins, :welcome:

 

First of all, :clapping: CONGRATS ON YOUR TWINS :clapping:


And even though I'm having di/di B/B twins, I still have educated myself on every possible scenerio of twins (like a PP said....DO NOT GOOGLE. I made that mistake and boy did I have awful nightmares) But luckily your doc caught it this early, so they can now monitor you properly.


Again, congrats on the babies and hope you have a wonderful, uneventful pregnancy :hug: Keep us posted

 

Welcome to TS and Congratulations on your Twin Pregnancy!! :yahoo: My girls were mono/di as well, and that is not uncommon with identical twins. In such cases, they will monitor you closely for TTTS, but other than that it shouldn't be any different than any other twin pregnancy. Best of luck to you!!

 

First of congratulations and welcome to TS. My boys are fraternal and shared one placenta and very born at 35w4d pefectly healthy. I agree don't google anything.

 

Wow! Thanks everybody for the replies. I'm really glad I found this site, its great. I have been seeing my family practice doctor, but he just notified me that he would not feel comfortable delivering twins. He said I could go to a different doctor in the same practice, who is a DO.. Doctor of Obstetrics I'm assuming? Would that be the same thing as a perinatologist? We live way out in the middle of the country and he said that we could deliver here if the DO could deliver the babies. The hospital here has no NICU, and from the sound of it should we go the extra 45 minutes to a hospital who does have a NICU.

 

Congrats! I have mono-di twins too! You don't necessarily need to be monitored every week. As you'll probably read up on and learn - TTTS (twin-to-twin tranfusion syndrome) occurs in about 10% of ID twins. Every doctor is different - and every expectant mother is different. Talk to your OB and high-risk doctor, and see what is right for you. I didn't think monitoring every week was right in my case after talking to my OB and meeting with 2 different high risk Drs. One wanted to monitor me every week and put me on progesterone shots. The other wanted to monitor me every 2-3 weeks and didn't agree with progesterone. I went with the 2nd doctor - it was just right for me.

Good luck!

 

Congratulations on your twin pregnancy.

A DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, NOT a Doctor of Obstetrics. You may want to do some research to see how DO's are different from MD's. Not saying they are good or bad, it's a different branch of medicine. I would make sure you are seen by an Obstetrician AND a Perinatolgist (a doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies). My daugther was seen by both throughout her pregnancy which was for the most part uneventful!
Best of luck!

 

Congrats on your ID twins!

 

Sorry, but i must disagree. You can do what you are comfortable with, but that is not the safest recommendation. How do you know who will fall in that 10%. I did and it can happen very quickly and without warning. There is no harm in being extra careful when it comes to the lives of your babies.

 

:Clap: CONGRATS ON YOUR TWINS :Clap:

I saw a midwife (or currently still am) and also have a peri as well as another high risk OB that oversees my pregnancy (some pre-e and PTL have been detected) so I agree that a D.O. may not be the safest route for you, just because you will need extra monitoring.


As far as your hospital not having a NICU, have you talked to your doctor about what their policy is as far as whether you would deliver there or if they would send you to the closest hospital that does have a NICU? Even if you deliver healthy, term babies, they still may need to be sent for observation. There's just multpile scenerios where being able to deliver at hospital with a NICU would just be more beneficial for all 3 of y'all.


Hope everything else is going well with you and your pregnancy :hug:

 

I respectfully have to agree with TandC. I am having a complicated mono/di pregnancy (unequal placenta sharing) even though I have not had to deal with TTTS. Mono/di pregnancies are VERY different than fraternal twin pregnancies- there are many increased risks due to the shared placenta and you really do need to be monitored closely. The rate of TTTS is actually 15-20% (not 10%) per the TTTS Foundation and the rate of unequal placenta sharing or sIUGR is probably another 10%.

We all just want what is best for our babies but having had experience with a complicated pregnancy I feel lucky that my peri has been monitoring me so closely.

 

I'm glad you caught it early. I wasn't making any recommendations - I just shared my experience. I believe each person needs to make her own decision based on her situation. For me - I had no signs whatsoever of TTTS. My babies have been practically the same size my whole pregnancy, amount of fluid is fine and blood flow fine. So, having an u/s every 2 weeks seemed resonable for me, instead of every week. My DH and I were comfortable with that. Many women would rather be monitored every week - and if that is right for them, that is all that matters!

 

Thank you for sharing this. I never found this website before when I was researching. Happy to know it now. What's interesting is this is printed in their FAQs...

So - it is 15-20%. However, when they say to make sure that you are seen every week - I wonder if that means u/s. I was seen every week, because I was seeing my high risk Dr and OB so between the two of them, i am seen almost every week - but only u/s at my high risk dr.

 

.
[/quote]


They mean an ultrasound every week. Most people don't have "signs" that they are developing ttts. It can happen suddenly, and without warning. If you visit the ttts message boards you will see that things can change in the matter of a week, which is why they recommend the weekly ultrasounds. An ultrasound is the only way to check the fluid levels and blood flow to each baby.

 

They mean an ultrasound every week. Most people don't have "signs" that they are developing ttts. It can happen suddenly, and without warning. If you visit the ttts message boards you will see that things can change in the matter of a week, which is why they recommend the weekly ultrasounds. An ultrasound is the only way to check the fluid levels and blood flow to each baby.
[/quote]

Isn't it interesting how there is such varying information out there! Especially from one doctor to the next. I've heard that there can be signs - especially if one baby is larger than the other or fluids are increasing more rapidly, or blood flow is going to one baby more than the other. Those are definitely signs. I am no expert and don't claim to be. I'm not a doctor. But, enjoy sharing information. My doctor told me it can't get dire serious in a matter of one week. But, sounds like you have heard and read differently. So, you are saying that in one week - it can get serious and TTTS can be diagnosed immediately after just that one week?

 

Oh yes!! Not to scare you, you are far enough along that it should not be a major concern. I have read awful stories where one week all was fine ( stage 1) and within a week they had lost a twin. Very scary. Unfortunately since it is not common docs don't really know as much as they say. My primary OB did not know much. Yes, some have symptoms, however from what I have read (from others and me included) there were no indications that anything was wrong. That is why it's so scary. I know you have not delivered yet so I just also wanted to give you a heads up on some studies that indicate you should deliver before 36 weeks in all monochorionic pregnancies. I can give you a link to show your doc if you are interested.

 

Just wanted to say Congratulations!!!!

We have twins that were just as you explained. Expect to be monitered closely! Our pg was uneventful and we delivered at 37 wks healthy baby girls.

 

TandC - yea, I agree... I think there is still a lot that is unknown. You mentioned studies that indicate that mono-di twins should be delivered by 36 weeks... that makes me think of the first high risk Dr that I saw - he said that he wants to deliver mono-di twins by 36 weeks - and by c-section. One thing that really turned me off from that Dr was that he basically stated to me how everything was going to work - it wasn't a discussion. It was him telling my DH and me how he was going to address "my situation" and that was that.

Well... my OB said that he'll let me go to 38 weeks at the most. At this point - I'm just taking it one day at a time! I'm trying to get all loose ends tied up - still need to finalize some things in the babies room and put the bassinets in our room. I feel like there is so much to do and so little time!

 

I am going to butt in here and give my opinion. Please see an OB and a peri and deliver in a hospital with a NICU. My babies were born at 35 weeks and I had a vaginal delivery BUT my girls developed TTTS at 28 weeks and one of my girls did need the NICU. TTTS happens so fast and can get serious very quickly. I just want what is best for you and your babies!!

 

That's what I've decided upon. Its a little extra ways but I want to make sure to have the NICU close by just in case. The DO I was seeing said that we could deliver there but if anything went wrong the babies would have to be taken to another hospital. Id just assume rather than that just to deliver at that hospital instead. He said I was going to said we would have to have ultrasounds more often because they're twins. But when I asked how often he said that he every 4 weeks. From what I have heard from other moms of twins on here that is a long time between ultrasounds. I seen a perinatologist for the first time yesterday and she confirmed that there is only one placenta for sure but the twins are both the same size for now, so thats good. The DO I was seeing also said that he would want me to deliver in the OR just incase I had to have an emergency c-section. I meant to ask the peri if that was something I would have to do there also. That seems a bit extreme to me... I would hope that you would still be able to deliver in a normal delivery room if vaginal delivery is possible??

 

When your girls developed TTTS at 28 weeks - what did you do? Was there any treatment? Or just more monitoring?

 

Congratulations on your ID twins! We just found out we were having twins at 6 weeks 3 days, but all we could tell was that they were in two sacs, but both had healthy heartbeats so that's all that matters!

I'm so excited for you!

As far as going to a hospital with no NICU, I can tell you it's probably not your best bet. I have no experience with twins, but my DS (ha! I get to use the abbreviations now since I know what they mean) was born 5 weeks early because I had pre-e. He was born in a hospital with no NICU and had to be kept under constant supervision for the first 24 hours before they finally transported him to a hospital 45 minutes away. This sucked because we were at separate hospitals as I couldn't go be with him until I was released.

Not trying to scare you at all, but that is something to think about in case your babies wind up needing more care than they can get at a smaller hospital!

Best wishes and :banana: congratulations :banana:

 

When mine developed TTTS I was put in the hospital. I had 3 amniotic fluid drains and spent 30 days in the hospital. Then I was sent home on bedrest and had to see my doctor every other day. It is very very common to deliver twins in the OR even if you are able to do it vaginally. They like to be prepared in care of cord entaglement or other emergencies. Good luck!!!

 

I am having mono-mono twins, which is a different situation than yours, but my ID twins are also sharing the same placenta. My OB said she would only do a c/s because there are risks when you are delivering two babies with one placenta. You should read up on it because I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was something along the lines of what if the first baby comes out vaginally and then it blocks the second baby from coming out?

 

Hi,

Congrats on your babies. I just wanted to add that I have b/g twins, yet only had one placenta. The doctor said they fused very early in my pregnancy and we never saw more than one placenta and mine are most definitely not identical. So just wanted to add just because you have only one placenta does not always equal identicals.

 

2 FUSED placentas is not the same as sharing ONE placenta. If they are indeed sharing a placenta they ARE identical. Many studies have been done and failed to prove that frats can truly share just ONE placenta.