Twins with no separating membrane

Britmummy

Wed, Jun 15 2011, 1:10 pm

amother wrote:

What does it mean no separating membrane?

It means they are mono-amniotic twins (I.e. sharing the same amniotic sac).

I have a friend with mono-amniotic twin girls (who turned 7 today!) and I know she was monitored much more closely than normal, as the doctors were afraid of "twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome" where one twin takes all the the nutrients and grows too quickly, whilst the other fails to thrive.
In her case, although they were worried, this didn't turn out to be the case and both were healthy, full-term babies :-)

I don't think you need to worry right now, but your sister will be monitored more closely than other pregnancies. Best wishes to her for a healthy pregnancy

↑ amother ↓

Wed, Jun 15 2011, 5:07 pm

If they are in the same placenta then they are identical-and there is a risk of twin to twin transfusion syndrome-because they share the same nutrition. If there is no membrane between the two babies then there is an additional risk of the babies entangling in each others chords-because there is nothing seperating them. When there is no membrane the mother has to be in the hospital from when the babies are big enough that it starts getting tight inside and they are at risk of entangling each other (I think abt 5/6 months). In the hospital, they keep the mother on a double fetal monitor a few hours a day to check both babies.

life'sgreat ↓

Thu, Jun 16 2011, 7:30 pm

Britmummy wrote:

amother wrote:

What does it mean no separating membrane?

Actually, these risks can be with Mono/Di twins, which is a bit less of a risk than MoMo Twins; Monochorionic Monoamniotic Twins. That's when there's nothing separating the two. It seems the OP's sister is carrying MoMo twins, which is a greater risk.

OP, google MoMo twins and read up on this. Is your sister with a high risk group? Is she comfortable with their monitoring? How far along is she? Very often, with MoMo twins, they hospitalize the mom in the early 30 weeks to monitor the babies very often due to the risk of cord entanglement etc...

nylon

Thu, Jun 16 2011, 8:01 pm

The outcomes for Mo-Mo twins have improved immensely with close monitoring and hospital bedrest. She will be delivered early, by CS. The specific worry with Mo-Mo is that the babies will become entangled in each others' cords. I only know of one woman who had this; it is a rare condition, so she should try to find a group that has handled these cases before.

Hatzlacha to her.

NotInNJMommy

Thu, Jun 16 2011, 8:09 pm

There was a story in the Nshei Newsletter in one of the past few issues about a woman who gave birth to twin girls who I think also were monoamniotic, and BH healthy. I can't remember which issue or any more details right now.

↑ amother

Fri, Jun 17 2011, 4:15 am

Op here. Thank you all for your answers and support. She is just starting her second trimester and already knows about delivering via cs and bed rest... I hope to share good news with all of you in a few months!

↑ life'sgreat

Fri, Jun 17 2011, 5:46 am

amother wrote:

Amen.