# mono di twins



## thatch

just a few short weeks after my husband and i got married we found out that i had just gotten pregnant. yesterday was our first doctors appointment and found out we are having twins! not only were we happily surprised that we were able to pregnant so quickly but we were shocked with twins when we dont have twins running in either of our families. The dr says that we have mono di twins although im not sure what that really means. anyone have mono di as well who can give some information?


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## fidgets mammy

hi and welcome. 

i gave birth to mono di twins 4 wks ago. its the medical term for identical twins which means they share a placenta and sack but r seperated by a fine membrane. identical twins are not hereditory which will explain not havin them in family. what happens is one egg is fertilised to make one baby and the egg splits in two. pretty amazing.

with mono dis youll be monitored more regularly as the risks are higher with these twins. please DO NOT panic, the majority are fine. i had mine at 36wks and they needed no help. what can happen is a condition called ttts(twin to twin transfusion)where one baby takes more frim the placenta than the other puttin both at risk. i never had this. stay away from google it will send u nuts. come here for any advice. 

congrats in yr twins, yr life is about to change forever-fir the better!! oh and id just got married when i fell with mine.


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## lizziedripping

Congrats on your twins Hun :) Mono di as far as I understand it means that the babies share a placenta but have two seperate sacs - much less risky than mo/mo twins who share a placenta AND amniotic sac. Identicals can also be di/di like fraternals and have two seperate placentas and sacs (20/30% of the time).

Good luck, twins are fab xx


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## henrysmumkaz

Fidget and Lizzie have already answered, I just wanted to wish you massive congratulations on both your wedding and your twin pregnancy! How exciting and lucky!


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## Deethehippy

I am currently pregnant with Mono/di twins (girlies) 

Like the other ladies said, it means your babies will be identical so you will have two girls or two boys that look the same - i feel so blessed to have had something random like an egg splitting happen to me!

You will be offered frequent scans as this type of pregnancy is considered 'high-risk' but please don't worry, it's better to be monitored and plenty of identical twins are born in this country just fine. When you go to appointments ask as many questions as you want to, thats what they are there for, keep your mind at ease by asking anything you are concerned or unsure about.

Look after yourself and eat lots of good foods/proteins and be sure to rest up as much as you can!

Congratulations! :flower:


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## lisababe5

Hello, congratulations and welcome to a very special club. I'm also pregnant with mono/di twins (boys) and have regular scans every 2 weeks to monitor growth. It can feel scary sometimes but as the ladies say don't go looking at google - always ask here first as people will be honest and comforting. 

Keep us updated...
Lisa


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## thatch

thank you everyone! I was confused about whether or not they were identical cuz i couldnt get a straight answer from the doctor but its wonderful to know now. how lucky are we?! haha im a bit scared cuz im only 5 feet tall and 100 pounds so im small and going to get huge! doctor said im probably going to have to end up on bed rest in the last months but i know im going to hate that.


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## Deethehippy

You never know, just because you are shorter doesn't mean you won't cope, it just depends sometimes. How old are you if you don't mind me asking? I keep thinking my age can't help (i am 38) Hopefully you will do just fine! :hugs:


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## xxxemsxxx

Congratulations on your twins.

My girls were mo/di and are now beautiful and healthy 11 month olds.

Like others have said avoid google and feel free to ask any questions you have here. 

Oh and where I live they dont let you get to 37 weeks before getting the babies out, due to their only being one placenta that has to work extra hard, mine where delivered at 36 & 4, so just be aware that they will be earlier than your 40 week due date. Mine were fine and have had no health issues from being born when they were.

Take care and keep us updated with how you are getting along. x


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## BellaDonna818

Congrats on the twins! :happydance: I would guess that the reason the Dr. wouldn't give you a straight answer about the babies being identical is because fraternal twins can also share a placenta. It happens when two eggs implant very close together, and their two placentas can merge. So most likely, the only way you'll know for sure whether they are identical or not is if you find out they are different genders. Although I believe it's more likely that they are identical. 

I'm pregnant with triplets, and both A & B share a placenta. All three of the babies are also the same sex. So the Dr's really can't say whether or not A & B are identical. For me, it's a great possibility that they aren't because I know that I released 3 eggs the cycle that I conceived. (I was having IUI treatments done, which is how I know how many eggs I released.)

And as the other ladies have already said, don't freak out about the babies sharing a placenta, or the possibility of TTTS. I know my OH was pretty upset when the Dr. talked to us about TTTS and told us there was a 10-15% chance of this happening. But as I explained to the OH, that means there is an 85-90% chance that it won't happen, and all will go well. Always look at the other side of the statistics. :winkwink:

Best of luck to you, and have a happy and healthy 9 months! :flower:


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## fidgets mammy

hn im only 5ft3 &1/2 if u look through the bump section youll see my progress.


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## Cabbage

Hi, I am expecting mono-di twins also! I am 3 inches taller than you, but I do get comments from people saying that I am too small to have twins--??!!!:wacko::wacko:

This section of the board is a close knit and helpful community, I find it the best place to come, rather than google, which scares me! Best of luck with your pregnancy and hope to chat to you throughout :flower:


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## Bumblebee117

Congratulations!! Xx


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## TatorMom

Congrats on your pregnancy! We're expecting mono-di twins as well, and were told there's less of a risk of TTS with this type of identical twins. Twins don't run in my family either. Identical twins are more spontaneous than anything.


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## Cabbage

TatorMom said:


> We're expecting mono-di twins as well, and were told there's less of a risk of TTS with this type of identical twins.

Really? I wasn't told this and haven't read it anywhere!? I wonder why this is so?


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## Deethehippy

If the identical twins share a sac with no dividing membrane, i think it's called mono/mono twins, they are the highest highest risk so i guess mono/di twins are lower risk than them but not as low as identical twins who have a sac and placenta each if that makes sense. :flower:


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## TatorMom

He told us there is a slightly lower risk, with the riskiest being mono-mono. Since finding out DH and I have done quite a bit of research, but a range of 10-25% doesn't tell you much. It's just something that needs to be watched closely. I have to believe all mono twins have some degree of TTS, since they're sharing a placenta, even if it's not something that's ever an issue. Thankfully the treatment availabilities are amazing compared to what they were even 10 years ago. There are other risk factors and possible complications outside of TTS that can occur when they share 1 amniotic sac, so it was a bit of a relief. At least where I work the OB's like to make sure mono-mono twins are delivered no later than 34 weeks(uncomplicated) and they normally admit the mothers to the unit by 26-27 weeks for closer monitoring. Mon-di are able to go to 38 weeks(uncomplicated), and can be monitored on an outpatient bases through their practitioner. Every OB and hospital is different though. 

Hoping we avoid complications, but you never know. After a number of miscarriages, and with this being twins and mono at that, we won't be buying any baby stuff until 28-30 weeks(my choice). I think I'd be more excited earlier if they were di-di, but the further along I get the less ambivalent I feel:thumbup:


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## Cabbage

Deethehippy said:


> If the identical twins share a sac with no dividing membrane, i think it's called mono/mono twins, they are the highest highest risk so i guess mono/di twins are lower risk than them but not as low as identical twins who have a sac and placenta each if that makes sense. :flower:


Thanks for your reply - ya, but aren't identical twins who share a placenta regardless of sharing a sac or not, equally at risk of TTTS?


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## TatorMom

Cabbage said:


> Deethehippy said:
> 
> 
> If the identical twins share a sac with no dividing membrane, i think it's called mono/mono twins, they are the highest highest risk so i guess mono/di twins are lower risk than them but not as low as identical twins who have a sac and placenta each if that makes sense. :flower:
> 
> 
> Thanks for your reply - ya, but aren't identical twins who share a placenta regardless of sharing a sac or not, equally at risk of TTTS?Click to expand...

I wouldn't think so, since it can be hard to tell if mono-di twins are in fact mono. We were told the only way to know for sure was to do a DNA test after they're born. The only type of twin where they know for sure is mono-mono. Identical twins can be di-di in some cases. We'll do a DNA test after they're born because I'll be curious I'm sure. Congrats on your pregnancy by the way!:flower:


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## Cabbage

TatorMom said:


> Cabbage said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Deethehippy said:
> 
> 
> If the identical twins share a sac with no dividing membrane, i think it's called mono/mono twins, they are the highest highest risk so i guess mono/di twins are lower risk than them but not as low as identical twins who have a sac and placenta each if that makes sense. :flower:
> 
> 
> Thanks for your reply - ya, but aren't identical twins who share a placenta regardless of sharing a sac or not, equally at risk of TTTS?Click to expand...
> 
> I wouldn't think so, since it can be hard to tell if mono-di twins are in fact mono.Click to expand...

Am I right in thinking 'mono' refers to the placenta? So mono would be one placenta? If that's the case, surely they can tell if there is one placenta or two during the ultrasound? I have heard of placentas fusing, maybe this has something to do with it? Congrats on your pregnancy as well, I am still trying to educate myself!!!!:wacko:

Anyone going to get pathology done on the placenta after the birth?


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## TatorMom

Mono does mean one and di means 2. With mono-di twins it's 1 placenta with 2 sacs. I'm an L&D nurse(also work in the special care nursery if they're short staffed) and we ALWAYS evaluate the placenta after birth. We're mainly looking for number of arteries, and other abnormalities. Keep in mind most deliveries are singletons, so unless there is a reason they don't get their placentas and umbilical cords evaluated that closely till after birth. The placenta can tell us if there are potential problems with the infant(s) to watch/test for. It's an amazing organ! It can be difficult to evaluate the placenta in ultrasound during many pregnancies, even the babies. I had 3 ultrasounds with our youngest because my belly stopped growing and they measured him at over 8 lbs. He was born weighing 5 lbs 14 oz. DH and I take everything with a grain of salt now. It really depends on how the baby(ies) is positioned, position of the placenta(s), the mothers anatomy, etc. I have a tilted uterus, which is now held in place my adhesions from endometriosis, so it doesn't tend to resolve during pregnancy. This can make it a bit more difficult to get a good assessment and measurements of the baby(ies) as they get larger. The skill of the tech makes a huge impact as well. We go to a private sonographer because we know she's much better than most. She sends the results to my OB. All babies get a Ballard Assessment(after the Apgar), which tells us what their gestational age truly is, physical maturity, neuromuscular maturity, etc. Dates can be +/- a couple weeks. This lets us know if they are truly low birthweight, etc. which then tells us what other(if any) evaluation/monitoring they need. Multiples generally get a more thorough assessment, but not always. 

It's an exciting time and so much different than singleton pregnancies. I almost feel like I'm pregnant for the first time again.


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## Deethehippy

Cabbage said:


> Deethehippy said:
> 
> 
> If the identical twins share a sac with no dividing membrane, i think it's called mono/mono twins, they are the highest highest risk so i guess mono/di twins are lower risk than them but not as low as identical twins who have a sac and placenta each if that makes sense. :flower:
> 
> 
> Thanks for your reply - ya, but aren't identical twins who share a placenta regardless of sharing a sac or not, equally at risk of TTTS?Click to expand...

Yes any twins that share a placenta are at risk of TTTS BUT i think mono/mono twins also have a risk of their cords tangling up etc as they are in the same sac & fluids. Not saying all mono/mono twins will have a problem but just that they are the highest risk twin pregnancy as far as i am aware :flower:


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## fidgets mammy

they thought mine were mo mo (mono mono) identicals as there was no visible membrane. i was worried sick as this is higher risk due to the cords. they have nothin to seperate them from tying each other up or compressing each others cord. at 12wks they found the membrane ttts is as much a risk in both mo/di and mo/mo as its to do with the placenta but the 'risks'in general reduce slightly due to their bein a membrane to stop the cord issues. i never had any issues with ttts but it did frighten me. mine were only 5oz different at birth. the docs have to give u worst case scenarios to prepare u. i made the stupid mistake of googling it. scared myself silly. my girls were born at 36+2 needing no help at all and had an apgar score of 9 at birth and five mins later so got to come straight to the ward with me then home two days later.


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