Wednesday 15 May 2019

The Case Of Vanishing Twin Syndrome

By Sharon Kelly


There have been many stories about mothers who have been shown to have twins in the first few weeks of their pregnancies only to find out a week later that only one heartbeat is there. When they then check, the doctors have concluded that there really is only one child and the twin disappeared. This is known as the vanishing twin syndrome and is a common condition among pregnant mothers.

As the name implies, it is a condition wherein one of two children born from the same womb would suddenly disappear while in the womb due to a miscarriage. When this happens, the child that is still there would absorb the fetal tissue and the placenta of the other one that vanished. Hence, it actually seems as if the other one suddenly did vanish into thin air, leaving only one child in the womb to be born.

Now, this incident is usually identified some time during the first trimester due to advanced ultrasound technology. During the first trimester, the parents may already know if ever they are expecting to have twins. In the following checkup though, one of the twins may disappear confirming that the mother does have this type of condition.

Some facts to know about this condition is that it happens in around twenty eight percent to thirty percent of pregnancies. In fact, this happens very often in the first parts of pregnancies that many mothers are not even aware if they got this condition or not. It is also possible for a mother to have a miscarriage reading but only have one child inside her womb.

As for the cause of this condition, there really is no concrete conclusion as to what causes it. Research believes that there is a link to some abnormalities in the chromosomes of the miscarried baby. Other research suggests that there is a link to increased chances and the age of women since it happens mostly to happen above age thirty.

There are usually no complications with the surviving twin if this does happen early in the pregnancy such as the first trimester. As mentioned above, the mother may not even notice that it had happened unless she takes an ultrasound. In any case, the surviving baby may also not be aware that he or she has a sibling and will come out healthy.

Now, things may be a little more complicated when this condition occurs sometime during the later trimesters of pregnancy such as the second or the third trimester. If this happens, the doctor would put the mother at a high risk pregnancy because the surviving baby may have some complications. One example would be cerebral palsy in the surviving child or other things.

While early detection of this kind of condition and an early occurrence may not be of any concern, late occurrence is. The key to this syndrome is to ensure awareness of what it is and how to deal with it. That said, it is highly recommended that women who are experiencing the symptoms such as pain in the pelvic area, bleeding, and uterine cramps go see her doctor right away.




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