So, you don't know how far along you are in your pregnancy? An early ultrasound is one method of clearing some of the confusion. Here is a synopsis of our experience with one yesterday:
Nurse Practitioner: So here's the first one.
Me: Oh. (Unspoken: What does she mean first one?... She must mean first angle.)
NP: So baby's measuring about 7 weeks. That puts your due date at March 28th.
Me: March? Great. I was figuring April. Ok.
NP: Ok, now here's the second one.
Me: What?.... Are you talking about twins? Are there two in there!?!?
NP: Yah, I was wondering how long that would take you.
Me: What? I'm having twins?!
NP: That's what it looks like.
Me: What?
Ben: [laughing in a hysterically joyful way] We're having twins!!! [read in super animated gleeful male voice]
Me: What!?!?!? Oooops, I think I prayed for this when I was younger. I guess you really do have to be careful what you pray for.
Well, she thought we were idiots for not getting it sooner, but I was half expecting her to tell us that we were wrong and that I'm not really pregnant. The last thing I EVER thought I'd hear was this.
My initial reaction was "How will we do this?!?!" But now after reading up on things a bit, I'm really confused and don't know whether to plan on two babies or not. She didn't mention any of the following, but as I've read more on fraternal (dizygotic, nonidentical, each with their own placenta) twins, I've learned some interesting news....
The Vanishing Twin
An interesting phenomenon has been noticed now that ultrasound exams are available for most pregnancies, facilitating detection of pregnancy at earlier and earlier stages. There have been many cases in which early-pregnancy ultrasound exams showed twins, only to have a subsequent ultrasound show only one fetus, with no sign of the other having been present. Sometimes the mother had experienced mild vaginal bleeding or cramps, and at other times she had no symptoms. This is the vanishing twin phenomenon.
Charles E. Boklage, M.D., and others have studied the vanishing twin, and it has been found to be more common than first realized. In one study, 325 twin pregnancies were identified very early by ultrasound exam and followed through the entire pregnancy. The study reported that 61 (18.8 percent) ended as twin births, 125 (38.5 percent) ended as singleton births, and 139 (42.8 percent) ended as a complete loss of the pregnancy.
Generally, the vanishing twin fetus is absorbed back into the uterus or degenerates as pregnancy advances. The likelihood of survival for the other co-twin is good.
There may be more twins than we realize. Boklage has concluded that the "true" twinning rate is closer to one in eight at conception. He feels that for every live-born twin pair, there are at least six singletons that have lost a twin without anyone ever knowing it. Some feel that the survival of just a few more of these twin conceptions could increase the twinning rate remarkably. This could be another explanation of why the rate of twins has recently increased.
Anyone may have had an undetected twin in the womb. It is conjectured that since twins are more likely to be left-handed than the normal population, left-handed singletons may be surviving co-twins of a vanishing identical!
So now I'm not sure how to feel. After the initial overwhelming "What?!?!" phase, I found myself becoming excited for twins. Now, I'm nervous to get my mind too fixed on two babies. Hmmm... I guess we'll see what happens. The NP did prepare me for the idea that there might be some spotting, but not that I might not have twins or that there was a strong statistical probability of loosing both babies. I don't know anything about the design or accuracy of the above study, but those look like pretty crazy odds. Anyway, yet another roller coaster on the ride that is prenatal life. She also informed me that they'd be planning on an early C-section. What?!?! Is this not my body?!?! I may be finding a new office.
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5 comments:
YAHOO!!!! I'm so excited for y'all. Perhaps the Lord knew he would have to send two to stand up to the force we know to be their future parents! I hope it's two boys so they can serve together! How cool would that be....
Well, I guess you can say that I had been longing for "something," today. I checked my sister's blog- nothing new, my mom's blog- nothing new, your blog- OH MY GOSH!!!!!!
Luckily James was sitting right beside me so he got to share in the joyous news as well. He laughed really hard when he realized what was going on. And I just went, "Oh, wow!"
Sarah, that really is great! And it is SO much like you to worry. Don't worry, it doesn't do anything. (I tell you that despite the fact that I would be doing the exact same thing as you are doing right now.;) My first thought- "How is she going to nurse them? Or is she?") That whole vanishing twin thing is crazy, but whatever. Can't stop the will of the Lord, right?
And I have to LOVE the part at the bottom about the early c-section... you DEFINITELY have to switch doctors. My gosh.. it's not like your some old grandma having twins! It will be interesting to see what your new doctor recommends. I mean, even if you do have to induce early you can at least deliver vaginally! Luvs to you all!
Congrats. I hope its twins because they'd have a great mom and the coolest dad in the world.
OHMYGOODNESS!!! I can't believe it! How fun, and how crazy all at the same time. The internet is full of all sorts of crazy articles that are very poor statistically, what I am trying to say is that I am sure this will not happen to you. I would definitely plan on having twins if I were you! How exciting.
Wow! Good luck, and I hope that everything goes okay. Don't you love when you get someone whose information is more confusing that it is clarifying?! I hope you find the doctor's office right for you.
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