Twins with shared Placenta?

[cricketwife]

Hi! I'm hopping over from MMM. A friend is pregnant with twins that share a placenta. Apparently it's very rare-- Dr. Google tells me 1% of identical twins share a placenta.   She had a miscarriage several months before getting pregnant and she's very concerned now.  Anybody have positive stories to share?  


And and hats off to all you moms if multiples! As a parent if a singleton, I think you ladies are amazing! 

[trafficgirl]

Do they share a placenta or are they also sharing a sac? It is not uncommon for identical twins to share a placenta. It IS uncommon for them to share a sac. If they share a sac, the risk is greater.

My identical boys shared a placenta and had different sacs. Everything looked great during the pregnancy and they were born at 37.5 weeks at both just under 6 lbs.

[cricketwife]

Feb 26, 2015 14:15:50 GMT -5 trafficgirl said:

Do they share a placenta or are they also sharing a sac? It is not uncommon for identical twins to share a placenta. It IS uncommon for them to share a sac. If they share a sac, the risk is greater.

My identical boys shared a placenta and had different sacs. Everything looked great during the pregnancy and they were born at 37.5 weeks at both just under 6 lbs.

Hmm... I'm not sure.  I'm sure about the placenta and that her twinning is rare.  Maybe i didn't get/remember all the important info.  Yay for your healthy twins!  That's what we are praying for her! 

[trafficgirl]

Feb 26, 2015 15:47:53 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Feb 26, 2015 14:15:50 GMT -5 trafficgirl said:

Do they share a placenta or are they also sharing a sac? It is not uncommon for identical twins to share a placenta. It IS uncommon for them to share a sac. If they share a sac, the risk is greater.

My identical boys shared a placenta and had different sacs. Everything looked great during the pregnancy and they were born at 37.5 weeks at both just under 6 lbs.

Hmm... I'm not sure.  I'm sure about the placenta and that her twinning is rare.  Maybe i didn't get/remember all the important info.  Yay for your healthy twins!  That's what we are praying for her! 

If it's rare it is likely a shared placenta and sac - what's called mo-mo twins, or mono-mono. I know there are risks with a shared placenta (that one twin gets more blood/nutrients than the other), and with sharing a sac typically twins are delivered quite early to avoid any injuries as they run out of room in the sac (I believe due to strangulation risk from the cords, but there could be other reasons).

Lots of good thoughts to your friend. If she hasn't already, she should see if there's a Moms of Multiples group in her area as they can be a resource. As well as Twiniversity (on FB and online).

[nomad]

cricketwife I had momo twins. Like trafficgirl said sharing a placenta doesn't necessarily mean they are momo and early on it can be hard to see the membrane noting that they are mo di like trafficgirl had.

If you/her have any questions I'm around. My girls were born at 31w6d, the goal with momo twins is to make it 32-34 weeks. My pregnancy was pretty easy. I didn't even have morning sickness. Once I hit 26 weeks I went impatient at the hospital and was monitored 3 times a day to make sure the girls were doing ok. Momo twins are high risk because not only do they share a placenta but there's nothing separating them so the cords can get tangled and knotted cutting off nutrients so once the babies are viable the normal course is to go in the hospital like I did. At 31w6d it was determined they needed to come out because one of the girls was having too many decels. They were in the NICU until almost their due date and they did end up coming home on oxygen and monitors for a month and two months. Now at 18 months they are caught up developmentally and completely normal toddlers. The hospital I delivered at had an abnormal amount of momo twins in 2013, my girls were the 3rd set born in just a few months there. We all had successful outcomes.

Good luck to your friend!

[Narwhal]

If her twins are momo, fingers crossed they stay healthy until delivery! Momo is really rare and pretty scary when you look at google. BUT, I'm sure she will follow her Drs orders, bed rest, early delivery, etc. Hopefully the membrane separating the sacs shows up!

[fryjack2]

Ditto what everyone else has said. Good luck to your friend!

[ninjabridemom]

My boys shared a placenta so were considered high risk (not as high risk as momo!!). It was a pretty easy pregnancy though.

The earliest u/s is usually the most accurate wrt twin type. They could clearly see the thin membrane separating my boys. It's crazy.

I know a momo set IRL and they are perfect. They were delivered around the time of nomad's (and are 4 now and crazy!!).

[egishere]

Is she seeing a maternal fetal medicine dr? If her ob hasn't referred her to one that would be a good step. They deal with these much more frequently and have the best equipment to monitor mom and babies.