Who else has experienced the "Vanishing Twin" Syndrome and when did you find out?

Question

Our (former) OB had no clue that our second baby had "vanished" until an Ultrasound Technician told us at 22 weeks that we only had one baby.

I'd like to hear from others that have experienced this. Specifically, when you were told and what did they tell you about it?

Thanks in advance.

In response to "thejezowskis"

We had an ultrasound at 9 weeks at the Fertility Center and it showed them side by side. Then we switched to our regular OB-GYN and had 5 Dopplers and 2 more Ultrasounds in which we were told we had "two healthy babies". The last Ultrasound in the OB's office was two weeks before the [outsourced] Ultrasound where they told us we only had one baby. We were shocked because we figured the second baby "vanished" at about 12-14 weeks and our (former) OB had no clue.

Answer 1

Vanishing twins are actually quite common believe it or not. With the modern practitioners doing ultrasounds very early in pregnancy they have found that it happens quite often (maybe explains left handed people since they tend to be a twin). That's part of the reason I can wait until the ultrasound at 20 weeks and not get an early one. I'd rather wait until I'm measuring large and they hear a possible second heartbeat to get an earlier one. I am so sorry for your loss - I can't imagine what you're going through at this later stage of the game. I'm honestly surprised they didn't do another scan between the last one and the most recent one. There is, unfortunately, no known reason but they do speculate that the second twin just wasn't healthy enough to make it.

Again, I am sorry for your loss but I hope the rest of your pregnancy is healthy and uneventful and you enjoy your little bundle of joy!

Why don't you check out:

http://www.vanishingtwin.com/

It has stories and information about it as well as where to get more info.

Answer 2

I am 25 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child. At 12 weeks I had my first ultrasound and there were two babies (fraternal twins.)
One did not have a heartbeat or any movement, so I had another ultrasound with the same results. At 17 weeks I had another ultrasound and the one twin had absorbed almost completely. The only problems that I have had are high AFP levels which can sometimes be caused by vanishing twin syndrome or can predict a birth defect, so I will have to have a level 2 ultrasound to check for deformities.

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I do have a story similar to yours. My best friend was one of the first test tube babies in our area (around 20 years ago), so her mother's pregnancy was monitored very closely. Five embryos were put into her mother, three implanted, and on a 12 week ultrasound there were two perfectly normal-looking fetuses. She had ultrasounds regularly throughout her pregnancy (about every 4 weeks) and at her 24 week ultrasound, the other fetus simply wasn't there. She had had no bleeding and until the ultrasound had no clue that one of her babies was missing. Turns out the twin who didn't make it was reabsorbed by the mother's and other twin's body. But the other twin, my friend, was born a healthy but small baby girl at 36 weeks and 5 pounds 4 ounces.

Answer 4

The "Vanishing Twin" usually happens early on in a pregnancy. I myself was pregnant with twins and at about 5 1/2 months we discovered (after second ultrasound) that I had lost one. We back dated some symptoms and discovered that at around 4 months I miscarried the other baby. However, I did go on to have a beautiful healthy little girl who is now 9 years old. Good Luck!

Answer 5

When I was born my mother had 2 amniotic sacs and just me.... This of course was nearly 35 years ago and they didn't have ultrasounds like they do today. My mother was told up until she was about 5 months pregnant she was going to have twins.... But I was the only child born in the pregnancy.

I had always wondered what happened to my brother/sister and how it was possible for my mom to have 2 amniotic sacs and just one child. There are a million explanations as to why one child "vanishes" but nothing concrete. I still sometimes wonder how my life would have been with a twin... weird, I know.

Answer 6

This happened to my cousin 3 years ago. At her 20 week ultrasound they found what they said was evidence of a "vanishing twin." They said there had been two babies but for whatever reason, one had been lost. My cousin had a little bleeding early on but not much, so I guess that's what it was attributed to.

By the way, she just had boy/girl twins this year! It runs in my family.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your other little one and hope you have a very happy and healthy pregnancy.

Answer 7

I am having twins and I have researched this because I am so worried about it. I did a google search of "Vanishing Twin Syndrome" and got a lot of good information. I am so sorry for your loss.

Answer 8

ill say close the **** up and end especially masking it up. Its a psychic attack and that medical website is there masking up the ******* actuality... and this is no longer shortness of breath... attempt something like suffocating because of the fact your techniques forgets the thank you to respire whilst it happens and you truthfully could desire to take a 2d to stress it decrease back into remembering... there can be diverse pops... one super one and whilst your techniques tries therapeutic one **** up with psychic means the smaller pop happens.

Answer 9

You might find this article interesting.
http://multiples.about.com/cs/medicalissues/a/vanishingtwin.htm

Answer 10

Read "the dark half" by Steven King.