Surprise or hidden twin s/o

amother

OP ↓

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 5:58 am

I'm always fascinated by these stories, especially where people previously had ultrasounds and standard pregnancy checkups.

Have you heard of stories where people were surprised to learn about a twin during a visit after their first dating scan? If so, how did that work? Did the machine not pick up two heartbeats?

amother

Steel ↓

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 7:04 am

Not so extreme but I knew I had a chance to have twins because I was doing a clomid cycle with two follicles. First scan at 6 weeks showed one baby, I was so disappointed - more than I should have been, I almost told them to double check I was so sure they missed one. A week later I went back for follow up and sure enough there were two babies! If I hadn't gone back then I wonder when I would have found out!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 7:10 am

amother Steel wrote:

Really cool! When was your next ultrasound appointment after that one? Could they hear two heartbeats at 7 weeks?

amother

Milk ↓

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 7:27 am

I'm expecting twins now and only found out at 23 weeks but I didn't have any ultrasounds before then. That was my anatomy scan (a few weeks late but when I could get an appointment) I did hear the heartbeat on the Doppler a few times before but it's easy to miss on just the Doppler.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 8:27 am

amother Milk wrote:

Are you the ima from the other thread? I spun this one off from that but didn't want to hijack your thread because you were asking specifically for something else. But if that was you, you mentioned that they almost didn't see it until after they were done? I thought that was so crazy because it sounds like they easily could have missed it. I once saw a homebirth video where there was a surprise twin, and it reminded me of that possibility. Also doesn't the anatomy scan also have a heartbeat thing on the big machine? I guess you don't hear both babies at once?

amother

↑ OP

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 8:28 am

amother Garnet wrote:

I had that. Found at the 20 week scan but also found the twin had stopped living a few weeks back. It was a rough way to find out it had been twins.

I'm so so sorry for your loss. How excruciatingly heartbreaking.

Chayalle

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 8:33 am

My mother AH had a close friend who has twin sons BAH. Back in the day, there were no US, but most of the time a doctor could tell a multiple pg by the time the due date arrived, via palpitations, etc....but in her case the doctor missed it. She said her labor didn't stop when the first twin came out, and the doctor exclaimed "there another one coming!"
I can't imagine finding that out during labor. Can you?

amother

↑ Steel

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 8:57 am

amother OP wrote:

Really cool! When was your next ultrasound appointment after that one? Could they hear two heartbeats at 7 weeks?

I went to high risk after that so had tons of scans. They never tried to listen to the heartbeats, just seeing on screen was enough.

amother

↑ Milk

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 10:35 am

amother OP wrote:

Yep that's me Smile

I wonder the same if they could have missed it... But I'm high risk for other reasons now (BH the babies are ok! Other issues that make me high rosk) so I'm having more monitoring anyways bc of that besides for the fact its twins so I would like to think they would have worked it out eventually!

You don't hear the heartbeat on the scan you see it so unless you right on top of the baby as far as I know you won't pick up the heartbeat. The babies are also in different locations so that also makes it harder to pick up both at once.

amother

Mauve

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 10:52 am

I know of two of those stories from "back in the day." In one, the mother had natural identical triplets, which have a some crazy odds. She didn't know until delivery, but may have thought she was carrying twins. In another, my friend told me that her mother was very young and the ob did not tell her that she was having twins (my friend and her sister) until she delivered. That, of course, would never pass today. My friend is 62. BH for modern medicine.

amother

Mistyrose

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 11:33 am

Chayalle wrote:

Sounds like my grandmothers story!
Found it in labor she was having twin sons

amother

Denim

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 11:50 am

Chayalle wrote:

I had that. No ultrasound. Midwife went to deliver placenta and saw a head. Nurse told her it can't be cuz I'm not expecting twins - and they had an argument LOL

amother

Sand

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 12:25 pm

My MIL had that with her twins. She found out in her ninth month when the OB was feeling her stomach that there were two babies in there (I guess 30 years ago there weren't really ultrasounds).

amother

Thistle

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 12:28 pm

the no ultrasound thing is right out of the 70s . I don’t get why not avail yourself of the technology. It makes no sense to me. I know it’s cultural etc etc but it is confounding to me

amother

Dodgerblue

Mon, Jan 15 2024, 12:37 pm

amother Natural wrote:

My mother found out at birth that she’s having a second!

My mil too. My mil was feeling horrific the entire pregnancy. She didn't mention anything to her Dr she just assumed after birth she'll find out she's unwell ch"v. When dh was born the placenta wasn't coming. So the Dr stuck his hand in to see what's going on and he's like : Mrs. Weiss there another head in there and so his identical twin brother was born.
On another note I have a cousin who had a similar story 2-3 years ago. She did take ultrasounds. The Dr explained that one baby was sitting on the other sort of. I don't know details.