Well, I spent 3 hours at the doctor's office this morning for my VERY thorough ultrasound exam. I finally found out that the babies are girls, as everyone suspected. I also found out that one of the twins, "Twin B," has a single umbilical artery.
Normally, babies have 2 umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein. Occassionally, especially with twins, a baby has only a single umbilical artery (SUA). SUA is found in about 1 of every 100 live births, so it is very common. Most are not even aware of it, because without an ultrasound scan, it is not detected. Anywhere from one half to two-thirds of babies born with SUA are born healthy and with no chromosomal or congenital difficulties.
We are hoping that "Twin B" is one of those healthy babies. She is currently about one week behind developmentally, which they attribute to SUA (not any twin-to-twin transfusion, which would be more dangerous to both babies). Although they were unable to get a good picture of her heart (because she refused to turn over), they said that it looked symmetric. All of her other organs and limbs looked normal. Since she has already been screened for some of the common chromosomal defects, with normal results, they do not suspect any chromosomal abnormalities at this point.
The plan now is to go in every other week for ultrasounds. They will be keeping track of both twins' growth, fluid volume, and organ appearance. Hopefully, next time they will be able to get a good look at "Twin B's" heart and rule out any heart defects.
Due to "Twin B's" refusal to turn over, we could not get a 3D picture of her face. Below is a 2D picture of "Twin B" and a 3D picture of "Twin A." (I personally think the 3D image is a little creepy, but...)
Normally, babies have 2 umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein. Occassionally, especially with twins, a baby has only a single umbilical artery (SUA). SUA is found in about 1 of every 100 live births, so it is very common. Most are not even aware of it, because without an ultrasound scan, it is not detected. Anywhere from one half to two-thirds of babies born with SUA are born healthy and with no chromosomal or congenital difficulties.
We are hoping that "Twin B" is one of those healthy babies. She is currently about one week behind developmentally, which they attribute to SUA (not any twin-to-twin transfusion, which would be more dangerous to both babies). Although they were unable to get a good picture of her heart (because she refused to turn over), they said that it looked symmetric. All of her other organs and limbs looked normal. Since she has already been screened for some of the common chromosomal defects, with normal results, they do not suspect any chromosomal abnormalities at this point.
The plan now is to go in every other week for ultrasounds. They will be keeping track of both twins' growth, fluid volume, and organ appearance. Hopefully, next time they will be able to get a good look at "Twin B's" heart and rule out any heart defects.
Due to "Twin B's" refusal to turn over, we could not get a 3D picture of her face. Below is a 2D picture of "Twin B" and a 3D picture of "Twin A." (I personally think the 3D image is a little creepy, but...)
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