Twin w/ smaller gest. sac?

[TarableT]

We went in for our first ultrasound this morning and to my suprise there were two sacs shown. The u/s tech said they both had strong heartbeats. However, Twin B is measuring slightly smaller then Twin A and has a much smaller (in comparison) gestational sac. I was in complete shock until the dr. told us she was concerned about B's small sac size. She gave us 50/50 chance of B not making it. We have to go back in 2 weeks to see if there's been any progess. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

[smurf1309]

I had the exact same thing, except that Twin B was measuring more then a week behind (both with good heart rates).. The Doctor didn't think it was a good sign, but a week later they were both measuring almost exactly the same. So either Twin B was just harder to see and measure properly, or it just caught up in growth..

Hopefully there is progress when you go back. I'm only just over 9 weeks, and have to go back on the 19th of April to see whether they're both still okay... I'm sooo nervous, but trying not to stress out too much !!

 

[heyyady]

My cousins were conceived two months apart- it's rare, but can happen, and they are just fine

 

[mamato2more]

My boys measured all over the place..They are fraternal, and their weights would sometimes be close, other times one behind another...A was always smaller than B, and as it turns out, he still is at 1 years old!

 

[lizziedripping]

Hi there. How many weeks along are you hun? Strong heartbeats are the vital factor on scans, more so than sac measurements, and size discrepancy.

I wouldn't worry too much at this stage, the h/b are a good sign, and as Mama says, twins rarely measure exactly the same. Mine were always a few days apart, and were born with a 1Ib 10 weight difference.

A friend of mine had a possible "vanishing twin" all thru her pregnancy, with one baby always giving cause for concern - her babies are now healthy 2yr olds It's so easy to worry, but at this point I'd say there's no real cause for concern x

 

[Traysea]

My baby B was always given 50/50 odds up until about 14 weeks. She had a small sac and was measuring a little smaller than A. But they are fraternal and B could easily have implanted later than A. If they are not identical you have to keep in mind that they are two totally different people. Doctors really should not be comparing one baby to the other unless the second baby is not measuring up to the standard measurements. So the best question to ask is if B was a single baby is her sac size large enough to support life? There is a minimum measurement of sac size vs crown rump size that I found in an article: https ://www. ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/1553175 (you need to take out the spaces, this forum won't let me post links. If that doesn't work you can PM me and I will see if I can send the link privately)

So if B is measuring over that minimum she should be able to survive. I also came across a post from a woman online who suggested drinking extra water to increase sac size. For a twin pregnancy you need to have between 80-100 oz of water per day. For a single pregnancy it is somewhere around 65-80 oz of water a day. Are you drinking enough?

Whether increasing the water really works or not, you are supposed to be drinking and it is something that you can actively do for them so it can only help your pregnancy. I increased and paid better attention to my water when my OB told me the 50/50 chance thing for my baby B (at about 11 weeks pregnant) her sac size did increase in the following weeks and has been fine since.

I am now 31 weeks and B measures a tiny bit smaller (A is 3lbs 6oz and B is 3lbs 2 oz) but their sacs are fine and they both have great heartbeats. Before you freak out too much find out what the actual measurements. If it is over the minimum then you can worry less.

Good luck!
Tracey

 

[auntcarrie]

At 6 weeks, my u/s showed one sac & fetal pole, and a second "splotch" that was oddly shaped that they told me was blood or an undeveloped embryo. At 7 weeks, both sacs had strong heartbeats and fetal poles and were closer together in size. Ever since then, they have measured similarly - in fact my 22 week scan had them exactly the same size!

How far along are you?

 

[TarableT]

Thank you for all of the posts. I am currently 8 weeks and the u/s was at 7w3d. They didn't really give us the hb or gest. sac measurements but the u/s tech said both hb's were strong and she didn't seemed worried about the sacs. The doctor, however, was worried. I will call tomorrow and ask about if B could survive on its own vs. comparing it to A. I have been trying to drink as much water as possible, however I never drank water before pregnant so it's very hard for me to drink 80 ounces a day. I have been drinking as much as I can handle. I have mostly cut out caffeine and most other drinks are too sweet for me at this time, so I do drink water lots more.

 

[Traysea]

It doesn't sound like your OB is very forthcoming with their information. When I was at my fertility clinic they told me every statistic and I would write it down. They were so thorough.
First I would keep track of my HCG and progesterone numbers, then CR lengths, HB's, sac sizes etc...

When I started going to the OB they were very laid back. The OB didn't even bother to check the beats per minute, he would just listen and say they were "normal". It would drive me crazy. I had to ask over and over what the numbers were, most of the time he would just say "oh the 150's" which to me meant he didn't measure the beats at all. My OB was so bad he wouldn't even show me the US screen or let me hear the heartbeats unless I asked him! I had heard the heartbeats so many time at the clinic but that didn't make it any less special. He was such an understanding gyno, it was a terrible shock to see how casual he handled my pregnancy as an OB.

It actually drove me so crazy that I ended up leaving my original OB (who I had been with for 19 years) and going to a different more high tech OB, who I totally adore and trust. I told them I am keeping scrapbooks for each baby and want to know what the stats are. I have since referenced my information several times on the message boards for when someone not as far along is looking to compare. I thought it might also be helpful to know if I ever get pregnant again. Now I just keep track of the heartbeats and their weight but I like to see how they progress every week. It is pretty interesting.

 

[Traysea]

Oh and for the water thing... Try a splash of juice or a couple slices of fruit in there to sweet it up. I find I can drink more if the water is room temperature. If it is cold it seems harder to get down. For a while I was doing 8 oz an hour which isn't a huge amount of water to have to get down. Try it for a few weeks and see how it goes...

 

[tabitha561]

I had this happen to me.... One twin was measuring smaller than the other I had what was called vanishing twin syndrome... A twin was about a week behind B twin ... This was my 8 weeks ultrasound. Now I'm 33 weeks with a little girl that a had twin... I guess what the OB told me is that its not an uncommon thing at all 40-45% of twin cases... Twin A just stopped growing and at my 13 week scan it was no where to be found
First is Baby A and Second is baby B

 

[TarableT]

Just went back for our second u/s. Twin B is still the same, with the smaller sac. Both are measuring the exact same and have good strong hbs and are wiggeling around. Dr. set us up with an appt for genetic testing and a NF scan for a few weeks from now with a high risk dr. She is hoping he would be able to better explain what is going on. I am now full on with morning sickness. I've actually been losing weight due to not being able to keep anything down (including water). Just took my first dose of Zofran, so hopefully that works. Dr. said its just a waiting game. This baby is very stubborn, like his parents.

 

[Angelblue]

One of my babies always measured 2 wks smaller! At about 24 wks we found out she had growth restriction (IUGR) so I was very closely monitored and ended up having them at 31+6 wks and there was a lb difference, but they are 5 months now and both gorgeous and healthy and she is 3lb smaller! I am hoping she will catch up at some point! Are yours fraternal or identical? (IUGR was because they shared the placenta and it wasnt working properly on her side) If you want any more info feel free to PM me x

Glad your scan went ok and I hope the sickness eases

 

[Traysea]

Yeah, that part is not fun. If they are the same crown rump size and the heartbeat is the same then my feeling is that B is going to be fine. Is B's sac growing... even if it is still smaller than A's is it still growing? Every appointment keep asking them if it is big enough to sustain life and short of that I would try not to worry too much. B's growth and heartbeat is good and that is more important. If the sac size can sustain her regardless of what size it is I would worry less. I wish I could figure out how to attach a photo for you. If you want to PM me your email I can send you some early ultrasound pics so you can see just how small my B's sac size was. It was at least 1/4 the size of A's.

I lost 14lbs in the first two trimesters the only things I could keep down was water, oranges, clementines and cantaloupe. I had at least 4-5 oranges a day and went thru about 15 cantaloupes in the first 20 weeks. If I got nauseous I would sit there smelling the orange peels LOL The citrus really kept me from being queasy. Is there anything you can keep down? How about watermelon?

I was counting down the days until I got to 12 weeks... waiting for that whole "things get better in the second trimester" thing. But for me the second trimester was worse than the first! I felt the worst from weeks 14-17 or so. It did get better as the weeks went by. I started gaining back the weight I lost at the beginning of the 3rd trimester. So far I gained about 9lbs back of the 14 I originally lost. The babies on the other hand were growing appropriately. They are now 4lbs 5oz and 4lb 3 oz. Even while I was losing they were still gaining so my OB was ok with the loss. Apparently it is more common than people think to lose weight.

 

[littlebabyboy]

Best of luck to u!