I am 6w2d pregnant, and I went in for an ultrasound today after experiencing some bleeding last night. I kept seeing FET A and FET B on the screen and I thought that she was going to tell me I lost a baby. Then she said she had TWO heartbeats and that the bleeding was likely from the placenta attaching to the uterine wall or from a possible third baby, there was a shadow that looked like the other two, but it was empty. The tech talked to the radiologist and they gave my dr. the report, two babies most likely non-identical, both likely from the right ovary, and two separate embryonic sacks and placentas (coriers?).
My dr. advised me to be very cautious, because many twin pregnancies this early on do not end up working out. [name]Both[/name] babies are measuring similarly in size 3.6 mm? I think. So, I was wondering if any of you were told it was twins this early? And if so, are both babies are still healthy? And if I did miscarry one, does that increase the risk of miscarrying another? Or both? I have only had two pregnancies before, both resulting in daughters. My older daughter is almost 6 and my younger daughter is 3 1/2. Is a pregnancy considered viable when you see a heartbeat or do I did to be on high alert until 12 weeks? Or longer?
I have no twins in my family, I have never taken fertility drugs, and this is my third pregnancy, so I am SHOCKED beyond belief right now, just trying to wrap my head around this. I’m nervous and excited and stunned. And, this is a whole new ballgame for baby names. I can’t even think about it right now. Yikes.
I was about 15 weeks pregnant when we found out about our twins. They’re now 1,5 years old and they’re both doing great. They were born a bit early, but there was nothing wrong with them and we could bring them home within a week. It was my fifth pregnancy, and even though we both (me and my husband) have twins in our family, we never thought it was going to happen to us. It was exciting, but also worrying. Two kids at once…yikes! It all went great though so there’s really no need to worry about that kind of stuff.
Good luck, I’m sure everything is going to be fine!
Thank you, [name]Rosemary[/name]. I’m very nervous. [name]How[/name] early were they born? I read that 37 weeks is considered full term for twins? My original due date was [name]Christmas[/name] [name]Eve[/name], but maybe it will be more like Thanksgiving?
It is normal for twins to be diagnosed at your first obstetric visit. Unfortunately from your story it sound like you might have conceived triplets, where one was non-viable. The non-viable fetus in a multiple gestation pregnancy is not surgically or chemically removed due to the obvious unacceptable risk to the others; it often is absorbed or calcifies. However your body might attempt to expel this non-viable conceptus and therefore that would place the other two at risk.
Twin pregnancies are automatically classified as high-risk. You will be high-risk until you deliver. The average gestational age at delivery for twins is 36 wks; all babies/pregnancies are considered full-term at 37 weeks.
Thanks, [name]Blade[/name]. My Dr. suggested that it would be absorbed. [name]Do[/name] you think that the bleeding I had on [name]Wednesday[/name] was the fetus being expelled, leaving just an empty sack? I’m not sure how that would work. My biggest fear right now, other than losing one of the two I saw on the u/s, is that somehow a triplet wasn’t developed enough to show up on the ultrasound and that the next time I go in there would be three. I am already freaking out over two, with my older two girls, we will be doubling our family in one day, I do not know what I would do if there were three. I’ve been trying to find real statistics on how many twin pregnancies result in two babies being born, but I haven’t been able to find any. I guess I will just have to prepare myself for a full pregnancy of anxiety and panic. I’m trying to relax, but I just can’t. Also, when I saw your reply I immediately thought of the names you gave your imaginary twins and giggled a little at my own expense. I did not see this coming.
More likely a empty gestational sac was a “blighted ovum”, or pregnancy where only one-half the embryo developed normally-- the half that becomes the placenta. Something very, very early, most likely at the moment of conception itself, went awry which does not allow the half that develops into the fetus to form.
Twin pregnancies are high-risk since, basically, the twins can interfere with each other. They can take each others blood supply, interfere with each others growth, prevent each other from turning head-down, you name it. Carrying two babies also puts the mother at higher risk for multiple pregnancy complications. I don’t know the statistics on how many twin conceptions result in the delivery of two viable infants, but I am sure it’s lower than for singletons.
My brothers are twins, and when my mom was pregnant with them I read all her books and became interested in the whole twin thing. I seem to recall that her doctor told her there’s a higher frequency of conceiving fraternal twins in women nearing menopause. (It was 8 1/2 years ago, so I’m fuzzy on the details.)
My brothers are identical, though, and were born at (I think) 36 weeks after lots of horrific in-utero complications. Now they’re both perfectly healthy second graders and I dote on them. Best of luck with yours!
[name]Hi[/name] geeknamezyo, I think as you approach menopause identical twins increase because your eggs are older and more likely to split. However, my mom (bless her heart) went through menopause VERY early, and did not realize what was going on for a year or more, I think she was like 37 and I’m 33, so I guess it’s possible that I am “nearing menopause”. And being genetically predisposed to ovulating one egg at a time may make menopause come earlier, because I think it begins when your egg supply gets low, although, I could be wrong about that.
[name]Blade[/name], thanks for the info as always, you are a great wealth of information and have put my mind at ease about the possibility of a third. The ultra-sound tech was muttering to herself about the low likelihood on spontaneous triplets, and just her saying triplets has had me stressed out.