Mastodawn

So, I was supposed to be a twin, but my twin was absorbed in the womb, which is known as "Vanishing Twin Syndrome", but i have a few questions about this

https://lemmy.world/post/43494369

So, I was supposed to be a twin, but my twin was absorbed in the womb, which is known as "Vanishing Twin Syndrome", but i have a few questions about this - Lemmy.World

I’ve looked up Vanishing Twin Syndrome, and almost every article I have seen said that VTS typically only happens during the first trimester of the pregnancy. But here’s the catch: My mom didn’t realize or know she was pregnant with me until 7 months into the pregnancy. And when she found out, the ultrasounds did show two babies. Me and my twin? If Vanishing Twin Syndrome usually only occurs during the 1st trimester, is there a reason why it can happen so late during the pregnancy, as in the case with my mom and my twin?

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Chee_Koala Feb 23

“Fetus papyraceous occurs in 1 out of 12,000 pregnancies and 1 out of 200 twin pregnancies.”

Instead of absorption, it could have been papyrification, but apparently that leaves a kind of unmistakable trace for a doctor, which you mentioned so I assume was involved during birth. If pregnancy was non-standard in more ways then just finding out late, maybe those remains were so small that they were harder to notice?

I couldn’t find a written record of a similar situation where a second twin that was seen at 7 months and just vanished afterward, so this could be a unique mix of circumstances. That also makes it statistically a lot more likely that somewhere along the lines, information was missing, or got garbled in chaos, or was misheard, not unlikely during extreme situations like birth. I’m not even thinking about bad intentions, just all the places where one human error could be the missing puzzle piece.

Can you think of any extra information regarding your time during pregnancy and your birth you are willing to share?

It sucks that you couldn’t live with your twin, although I can imagine you have made you peace with it since. Having siblings can be a lot of fun, I know I love it :)

Vanishing Twin Syndrome

Vanishing twin syndrome (VTS) occurs whena fetus in a multiple pregnancy spontaneously dies and is partially or fully reabsorbed, usually in the first trimester. Some definitions require that cardiac activity be previously confirmed in all fetuses before the loss.[1] Early ultrasound detection has led to an increase in the diagnosis of this condition. Estimates suggest VTS occurs in up to 36% of twin pregnancies and 30% to 50% of higher-order multiple pregnancies.[2] The syndrome may involve monochorionic or dichorionic gestations with differing clinical implications. In dichorionic pregnancies, the impact on the surviving twin is often minimal. However, in monochorionic pregnancies, shared placental circulation can increase the risk of complications such as neurological injury or preterm birth in the surviving fetus due to vascular disturbances following the demise of 1 fetus.

NCBI Bookshelf