According to Enbom, the incidence of twin pregnancies with single fetal demise ranges from 0.5% to 6.8% [6,7]. Intrauterine single fetal death can occur at any gestational age. If this event happens in the first trimester of the pregnancy, the surviving twin will most likely develop without further consequences.
Vanishing twin syndrome was first recognized in 1945. This occurs when a twin or multiple disappears in the uterus during pregnancy as a result of a miscarriage of one twin or multiple. The fetal tissue is absorbed by the other twin, multiple, placenta or the mother.
Vanishing twin syndrome (VTS) is a miscarriage that causes a pregnancy involving twins to become a pregnancy involving one baby. It occurs when one of the embryos detected during an ultrasound stops developing. VTS can't be treated or prevented.
Due to inter-twin vascular anastomosis in the monochorionic common placenta, the death of one twin causes a drop in blood pressure due to a shift of blood from the survivor to the dead fetus. If the drop of blood pressure is abrupt and serious, the survivor will die soon after (as occurs in 15% of cases).
So what will happen to another twin? After the loss of one fetus, the viable baby is not usually affected. Particularly if the loss of the baby was due to chromosomal factors, or the twins were dizygotic. In most cases, the surviving twin will continue to grow and develop without complications.
Sunrise baby: The twin who survives, if one twin is lost during pregnancy. Pot of gold baby: Any other babies born after a rainbow baby.
The most common symptom of stillbirth is when you stop feeling your baby moving and kicking. Others include cramps, pain or bleeding from the vagina. Call your health care provider right away or go to the emergency room if you have any of these conditions.
After a fetus dies, labour will usually begin on its own within 2 weeks. Many women don't want to wait that long. They choose to have labour induced. This means going to the hospital and, usually, getting medicine that starts the labour process.
Monochorionic Diamniotic Twin Gestations
By definition, twins of a monochorionic pregnancy are of the same gender and share a single placenta (see Figs. 160.1 and 160.2).
A single live intrauterine pregnancy when a scan has located a single gestational sac that contains either a single yolk sac or a single fetal pole with fetal heart activity and is located in the uterus. At this stage, this is a normally developing pregnancy with one fetus.
What is the likelihood of having more than one set of twins? If existing twins are identical the chance of having another set is the same as most women, about 1 in 250. If the twins are non- identical the chances of having twins again are much higher.
"Angel Baby," "Sunshine Baby," and "Rainbow Baby" are terms that refer to babies born just before or after another baby is lost due to a variety of reasons. They help immediate family members move through the grieving process and find meaning in the loss.
Vanishing twin syndrome is typically diagnosed by ultrasound. If an early ultrasound shows a twin pregnancy, but a the parent experiences symptoms of miscarriage or lower-than-expected hCG levels, or only one heartbeat can be detected via Doppler, a healthcare provider may suspect vanishing twin syndrome.
Why didn't I know? While many miscarriages begin with symptoms of pain and bleeding, there are often no such signs with a missed miscarriage. Pregnancy hormones may continue to be high for some time after the baby has died, so you may continue to feel pregnant and a pregnancy test may well still show positive.
Monoamniotic-monochorionic Twins
This is the rarest type of twin, and it means a riskier pregnancy as the babies can get tangled in their own umbilical cords. If you have monoamniotic-monochorionic twins, your healthcare provider will monitor your pregnancy closely.
Monochorionic diamniotic (Mo-Di) twins are twins that share a placenta and therefore a blood supply. They occur in 3–4 per 1,000 pregnancies. They are not the type of twins that run in families. The only known risk factor is in vitro fertilization (IVF). About 4% of IVF pregnancies will have monochorionic twinning.
Women who retain the dead embryo/fetus can experience severe blood loss or develop an infection of the womb. These are rare complications. Gastro-intestinal side effects such as nausea and diarrhoea, cramping or abdominal pain and fever have been reported with misoprostol. Why is this important?
If this event happens in the first trimester of the pregnancy, the surviving twin will most likely develop without further consequences. However, if the fetal death occurs after mid gestation (17 weeks' gestation) there is an associated increased risk of preterm labor, IUGR, preeclampsia, and perinatal mortality [5,8].
Sometimes a baby dies in the uterus (an intra-uterine death or IUD), but labour does not start spontaneously. If this happens, you will be given medicines to induce labour. This is the safest way of delivering the baby. It also gives you and your partner the chance to see and hold the baby at birth, if you want to.
A stillbirth is the death or loss of a baby before or during delivery. Both miscarriage and stillbirth describe pregnancy loss, but they differ according to when the loss occurs.
Most babies born unexpectedly without a heartbeat can be successfully resuscitated in the delivery room. Of those successfully resuscitated, 48% survive with normal outcome or mild-moderate disability.
A woman experiencing five or more stressful events was nearly 2.5 times more likely to have a stillbirth than a woman who had experienced none.
There is one particular power though which twins possess, longevity. Fraternal twins live longer than singletons and identical twins longer still. Male identical twins on average, saw the most benefit.
A Cloud or Angel baby is a baby lost. A loss due to miscarriage, stillbirth or lost in the days, weeks, months or years after childbirth. All babies go to heaven and they watch over us from above. A Rainbow Baby is a baby that is born following a loss- miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss.