Wednesday, May 15, 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.

Unfortunately, the cause for this sort of incident is still unknown or cannot be concluded. There have been a few studies that have linked this condition with abnormalities found in the chromosomes of the vanished twin. Other than that, there have been no conclusive evidence that would state the true cause or causes of this condition.

That said though, most mothers would actually be worried about some complications that may happen to them or the surviving baby. The good news is that there are usually no complications that accompany this condition aside from a few symptoms that would result in a few medicines prescribed by the doctor. Some symptoms may include bleeding, uterine pain, and even pelvic pain.

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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