hidden twin ..... ? extra heartbeat found.

[Collyrocks]

This is soooo interesting. I hope it all works out as she wants it too. As an aside, it's sad seeing so many mean messages to the lady that doubted the twin possibility even if the way she said so may not be ideal. I feel terrible for her after reading some of the nasty comments

 

[d_b]

Chances are probably slim but stranger things have happened! Maybe she has two wombs or a smaller twin hidden behind a bigger one. I'd love for them to find a hidden twin at my next ultrasound!

 

[bella21]

This is soooo interesting. I hope it all works out as she wants it too. As an aside, it's sad seeing so many mean messages to the lady that doubted the twin possibility even if the way she said so may not be ideal. I feel terrible for her after reading some of the nasty comments

I agree. I don't feel like she meant to come off the way people are perceiving it. This is the only problem with not knowing/speaking to people in person. We perceive things the wrong way. Plus put a bunch of pregnant hormonal women together and its just bound to happen

 

[Glitter_berry]

This is soooo interesting. I hope it all works out as she wants it too. As an aside, it's sad seeing so many mean messages to the lady that doubted the twin possibility even if the way she said so may not be ideal. I feel terrible for her after reading some of the nasty comments

I agree. I don't feel like she meant to come off the way people are perceiving it. This is the only problem with not knowing/speaking to people in person. We perceive things the wrong way. Plus put a bunch of pregnant hormonal women together and its just bound to happen

Ha ha! So true, damn hormones.

I think it was just the way it was said. " get the idea out of your head, if one wasn't seen there isn't one" or " baby would be SO small it would have no chance of survival"

Nobody wants to hear if there was another baby it would die.

Glad her pregnancy is going smoothly, and wish her the best of luck becoming a new mummy.
But offer the advice to be a bit more thoughtful and compassionate to others situations. Xx

 

[mnonie]

Lol the same thing happened to some one I know - my mum with me and my twin sister. They had no idea she was having two even to the point the midwifes told her to stop being silly during the delivery of my sister. It can happen incredibly rare tho.... Never say never tho. I'll have to dig out the newspaper article, and scan pics that mums got . Xx

 

[stardust1976]

They can miss a twin on ultrasound - if the second baby is smaller and laying in a mirror position behind the first baby, it is entirely possible to miss. There also COULD very well be issues with the baby being outside the uterus (it can happen, it's been documented), or the uterus being an odd shape and the second baby being hidden by other things.

My cousins are twins - they were laying in a mirror position. Their mother gave birth at 28 weeks after having ultrasounds throughout. They never knew she was having twins. She tore quite badly after delivering my first cousin, and they were stitching her back up when she began contracting again. They investigated and discovered she had another baby in there and she delivered her second baby. Chloe was very very sick - I'm not 100%sure of the details, but she needed a lot of care due to being left in there and being smaller and hidden behind Jess.

So it does happen, and it can happen, although it is very very rare. I think the system in the UK is more similar to the Australian system, and over here we would be referred to a specialist as well because the Ultrasound techs are only looking for whatever they are told to look for - they are not allowed to go searching around. They fill out a report with their findings on it, and that report would have recommendations on it - such as recommend a specialist for further investigation, etc etc.....

Good luck to her, I hope the next couple of weeks fly by (but I know they probably won't!).

 

[o0Squeaks0o]

Lol the same thing happened to some one I know - my mum with me and my twin sister. They had no idea she was having two even to the point the midwifes told her to stop being silly during the delivery of my sister. It can happen incredibly rare tho.... Never say never tho. I'll have to dig out the newspaper article, and scan pics that mums got . Xx

oh wow that's incredible. dig the items out id love to see them. can i be nosey and ask how much you and your sister weighed at birth ? xx

 

[CastawayBride]

They would be able to find the twin with U/S no problem at 30 weeks. Boys CAN have 3 lines in earlier U/S and appear to be girls, so I would say she probably had a boy that wasn't far enough developed and by the next scan it was. If they are not able to find a twin at 26 weeks then either the tech is seriously misqualified or the twin is SO small there is no way it could ever be viable. It has been obvious I have 2 in there from 8 weeks. Now they can barely get a shot of one without getting some part of the other (and we just had our 26 week U/S last week). I'd get the idea of twins out of your head. If they've done U/S and couldn't find one, then there isn't one there.

Do you have to be quite so blunt??
Maybe there is a simple explanation where the other heartbeat is coming from, i'm not a doctor so i dont have a clue. If you read the original post she clearly says that her friend has to go have a specialist scan to double check if there is a hiding twin in there so the idea is not 'in her head' it has been mentioned by someone in the medical profession.

Squeeks, hope your friend gets some answers soon xx

I have had plenty of scans with my twins and I'm telling you at this size there is NO WAY they could miss one on an U/S, especially if they are looking for one. The babies are WAY too big to miss. If it was a 6 weeks scan or something very early maybe, but at almost the third tri, not possible.

It it possible to miss a twin my friend didn't find out she was having twins til 20 weeks. And she had scans at 7 and 12 weeks. It is possible

She said she was 26 weeks and had a scan. It is not possible for them to miss a baby that late.

It IS possible. My SIL (was at scans with her as FOB 'did a runner') found out she was having twins at the delivery. She was scanned at 13, 21 and 33 weeks.

Not every pregnancy is text book and not every professional knows everything so forgive me for stating you need to do more research and stop stating that because your's is textbook, that everyone else's is. I can also be very blunt.

Were they specifically LOOKING for a twin? How can they miss a 2-3lb mass they are looking for? That doesn't make any sense unless the tech really wasn't looking all that hard. The uterus isn't all that big, so there aren't really all that many places they could "hide".

I didn't ask but as you say, 'in theory' a "2-3lb mass" can't be that hard to find. However, one of them was missed (identical girls) so it clearly can be that hard to find and the midwife conducting the last scan had been doing it for 30+ years. They didn't even know when she was in labor. She was pushing the placenta out and out came a baby.

I understand you know a lot about your pregnancy but you don't know any of these women in real life and I find it quite insulting that you feel you know more about their pregnancies than anyone else. Everyone is happy that you're pregnancy is so perfect but you need to back of from those that aren't. If you think I'm being blunt/harsh/mean, I don't care. I feel you are rather insensitive and condescending so that makes us even.

The tech we see most of the time told us that if they miss a baby (even at 8 weeks) then they aren't a good tech as they should NOT be missing babies in there (particularly if they are LOOKING for another one). She said it would be nearly impossible for them to miss twins even at 8 weeks. They weren't even looking for a second when they found ours. They do check the whole uterus every time though. I find it VERY hard to believe a doctor LOOKING for a second baby at 26 weeks couldn't find it if it was there. A 26 week baby is NOT small. That would be like completely missing your bladder or more. I just don't see it happening with a competent person doing the U/S.

Then why don't you become an ultrasound tech so you can be right 100% of the time?

While you're at it, get an MD behind your name since it seems like you know it all.

Sorry this is harsh, but you act like you know *all*.

I am not going to apologize for being harsh, Amjon has a hard on for people who think they have twins, you have a right to your opinion but no need to shove down everyone's throats.

With that being said the doctor has said I will have to wait until Week 20 to confirm whether we are having twins. My doctor specifically said they like to hide in there and this was coming from a doctor. Just b/c this woman is later on in her pregnancy doesn't mean anything...good luck to your friend Squeaks!

 

[mnonie]

Lol the same thing happened to some one I know - my mum with me and my twin sister. They had no idea she was having two even to the point the midwifes told her to stop being silly during the delivery of my sister. It can happen incredibly rare tho.... Never say never tho. I'll have to dig out the newspaper article, and scan pics that mums got . Xx

oh wow that's incredible. dig the items out id love to see them. can i be nosey and ask how much you and your sister weighed at birth ? xx

Of course . I was 6lb 5 and my sister was 5lb6 so not tiny by any means but mum was never huge wit any of us. Mums got a odd shaped uterus and my sister was very I'll with lung issues but alls well that ends well . I hope the OP's friend gets some answers and has a good end to her pregnancy xx

 

[tylerncallum]

Hey! I dnt know anybody who has gone through this but i guess anything is possible...on a different site i was on when last pregnant...this lady had her baby and weeks after she told doctors she could still feel kicking and they checked her and she actually concived another child whilr pregnant! And was like 29 weeks pregnant :0 was amazing!...hope ur friend gets sorted out and everything ok for her xx

 

[Toms Mummy]

Have none of you seen friends? It's possible!

 

[annio84]

This is soooo interesting. I hope it all works out as she wants it too. As an aside, it's sad seeing so many mean messages to the lady that doubted the twin possibility even if the way she said so may not be ideal. I feel terrible for her after reading some of the nasty comments

I agree. I don't feel like she meant to come off the way people are perceiving it. This is the only problem with not knowing/speaking to people in person. We perceive things the wrong way. Plus put a bunch of pregnant hormonal women together and its just bound to happen

I would be inclined to agree with you except that this poster is always rude and blunt. I honestly think it's about time it was pointed out to her how she comes across. Maybe some people have come across a little rude in return but I agree with the general point that she shouldn't act as though OP is making stuff up and it is possible that things outside of her own experience will happen. And maybe just read back over what you've written before you post and think how you would feel if someone replied to you in this way.

Anyway, squeaks, very interested to hear what comes of this. Will be looking for updates.

 

[lewood88]

Like that woman in Florida that had 2 uteri and got pregnant in both at the same time! These funny things DO happen

i was about to mention that , anything is possible and no one should say never, back in the olden days i mean back when my nan had her kids there was no such thing as a ultrasound and women didnt even know they was having twins!!

hidden twins are possible my cousin had twins and at some of her u/s one twin would hide away and she would have to go bk constantly because of it,
chloe was 4ishlb and ryan was 6lb one twin can be slightly smaller

 

[babyhopes2010]

Thats really strange if she is having twins its never been picked up

altho iv heard of a twin hiding. if u have it on ur medical records its a singleton they will never look for a twin.

 

[babyhopes2010]

its a little odd they would wait a MONTH if they thought something was wrong, Maybe the HB they think they hear is the echo of the HB in the placenta

 

[Mum2BKW]

Wow, how crazy would it be if it did turn out to be twins! Please do keep us posted, it's like an episode of House!

I must admit I find it really, really hard to believe that twins could be missed on a modern ultrasound, though obviously it does happen. I guess an odd shaped uterus and one smaller twin always directly behind the other would probably do it, but I think if this happened to me it would take a while for it to sink in! Very exciting though, good luck to your friend

Also - I don't know her circumstances but waiting a month does seem a very long time, could she pay for a private ultrasound to put her mind at ease?

 

[Pink Flowers]

I hope your friend gets some answers, I have heard of people finding out they are expecting twins later in pregnancy.

And a month is a very long time to wait x

 

[sbl]

I dunno if anyone else has asked this yet but why are they leaving her for almost a month before another scan? By then she'll be 30 weeks and allot of twin pregnancies arrive early.

 

[atalanta85]

There was a documentary I watched once where the lady was having twins and then they discovered a third (attached outside the uterus and sitting underneth it) in the final trimester!! Rare, but it's possible.

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

My manager didn't find out she was expecting twins until 5 months into the pregnancy. The "active" baby kept hiding behind his brother.