I'm 13.5wks pregnant with twins, initially my Ob said he thought they were frat. There are 2 sacs. Had my Down Syndrome scan yesterday and the doc said he's pretty sure they're ID because he could only see 1 placenta.

-Did you have 2 sacs and 1 placenta?
-Is it likely the other placenta is hidden from view?
-Do the docs often make mistakes about this?
-Am I going to have to wait til the birth to find out for sure?

We had just gotten over the initial shock of having twins and had come to terms with them being fraternal and had worked out all the positives of this. Now we find out they're apparently id it's so confusing! DH is quite upset about it, he doesn't handle change/news well and he's all worried about having id twins. We know no different, so it doesn't really bother me what we're actually having, I would just like to know for sure one way or the other!

Ok, and just a silly question:
-Do Id twins have their own personalities? DH is concerned they'll just be like clones of each other and will never be individuals. I imagine they'd be similar but not always identical etc.

Hope this all made sense, .

I had two sacs 1 placenta. I knew they were ID because they were IVF and we only transferred one embryo.

But it is totally debatable from a scan that yours may be either frat or ID right up until they are born and perhaps even after till a DNA test is done (unless you have boy/girl)

The placenta may well be two fused together to give the appearance of one.

It is best for the sonographer to err on the side of ID so that they can monitor more frequently for Twin to Twin Transfusion syndrome ( only IDs get this)

Oh boy do they ever!LOL They are still two different little people. It is very special having ID twins. I am sure the bond between Fraternals is very very strong to but to me there is just something marvelous about having a matching brother or sister for your life. mY husband adores having ID twins and I am sure yours will too.

My twins are supposed to be ID.

I had one chorion, but both were in their own "sack" amnion. They shared one placenta.

To be honest, I would go on the earliest scan to determine ID or not. It depends on if they have a separating membrane. For fraternal twins, you usually have 2 chorion's & 2 amnions. I know it can be very confusing

Here is some info that explains things a lot better than I can http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin



Umm yep they sure do! Just because they might look the same, they are still individual people. They don't share a spirit or personality. They are similar in a lot of ways, but also different. I assure you if you have ID twins, you will agree that there are differences. I question if my twins are ID all the time b/c to me they even look different.

ID twins are great & I have loved having them .


HTH

Belinda

You won't know with 100% certainty unless you have a zygosity test after they arrive (or they are different genders LOL). For monitoring of the pregnancy, I would go with the earlier scan too to be on the safe side (ID pregnancies have higher risks than frat).

They determine how many chorions and amnions there are by looking at the layers and thicknesses of membranes. ID twins are usually monochorionic/diamniotic or monochorionic/monoamniotic and frat twins are dichorionic/diamniotic. You should see those words somewhere on your ultrasound report. There's a good diagram to explain this here. Even at 13.5 weeks, the membranes are quite stretched, which makes that really difficult. Two placentas will often (usually even I think?) fuse together as the pregnancy progresses too.

And yes, tell your DH not to worry - ID twins have different personalities .

edited to add link

Mine are fraternal (2 sacs/2 placentas).

Although my OB said to me that just because there are 2 sacs/2 placentas, it doesn't necessarily mean they are fraternal. It all depends on when the egg split.

It's pretty obvious with us they are fraternal though because we got one red-head and one brunette. If they had been the same colouring we might have had to go for the zygosity test.

Hi,
We had 2 sacs & one placenta.

My boys are identical, we were told on our first ultrasound.

As for the personality question ....
My two are very different. 2 totally different boys. One is so much like DS1 its not funny. The other one is just the opposite.

They may look the same but that is where the similarites end.

I dont know whether you would see this as a good thing or not BUT identicals just seem to get so much attention. My DH loves taking the boys out cause he reckons all the chickies come up to him Maybe that might make your DH feel better

Best of luck with your pregnancy

Mel

Mel

Hi

I have id girls (now 18 months). We had two sacs and one placenta.

When i found out we were having twins, I automatically assumed they were fraternal as my husband is a fraternal twin. So we were really surprised when we found out they were identical.

Most people cannot tell our girls apart, but once you get to know them like us, they do look different, as their own personality shines through. They both have completely different personalities. So don't worry at all about them being alike.

I wanted them to have their own independance, so from the very start i dressed them each differently to help people tell them apart. This helps heaps.

I think having id twins is very special and I wouldn't trade them for the world, they have an amazing bond and play together beautifully.

My husband was worried he would have trouble telling them apart too when we first found out they were id. But when you see him with his two daughters now, it is absolutely beautiful. I think he secretly loves the attention he gets when he takes his girls out. He won't admit that to me of course.

Good luck with your pregnancy.
Db

We had a scan that showed two sacs and one placenta leading them to believe that they were ID's but once Twin 2 later revealed she was a girl (we had known for a little while that Twin 1 was a boy.) we knew they weren't ID's. At birth I delivered a huge! fused placenta which was the reason they could only find the one.

Like PP has said, if you have 2 sacs and two placentas a DNA test is the only sure way to tell but if it definately is only one placenta then you have ID's in there

Same as PP - two sacs and a fused placenta. Definately not identical, we also have B/G twins

Thanks for the replies. Who would have thought having twins can be so confusing!!

I guess I'll have to wait til the 20wk scan to find out the sexes to get maybe more of an idea. Unless they're both boys or both girls, then that won't really help me much!

Guess I just need to go with the flow...I hate not knowing everything though.

LOL welcome to parenthood!

I also had two sacs and a fused placenta. I was so confused about if they were id or frat that I had the test done when they were a few months old - they are id.

The sacs/placentas all depends on when the egg split with id twins

I have id girls. We had two sacs and one placenta. There was a very thin dividing membrane. At 12 weeks they told us to come back before 16 weeks and have it re-checked as it is easier to tell before this point. I think they said after 16 weeks two placentas can fuse and look like one on the ultrasound. At 16 weeks they also checked the gender to back up their conclusion which turned out to be correct.

My girls have similarities but by and large I would say that they have very different personalities. One is an explorer - get up and go type. The other needs to be near her mum all the time.

I completely agree! I only realise when other people can't tell or that I see them from a distance when I drive into the driveway and my husband is holding one. Then it dawns on me that they are identical because I have to remember what they were dressed in when I left.

Enjoy them!!!

My OB said that it was routine for ID twins to have a scan at 16-ish weeks, it's the start of monitoring for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). I know that he had me book in for 3-4 weekly scans from 16 weeks for that reason. I know other women who've had ID twins and they've all had quite a few extra scans for this reason.

This is something I'd follow up with your OB, I would have thought (as a PP suggested) that in a case like yours it was best to assume ID until proven otherwise.

All the best with your pregnancy.

I have frat twins, so dichorionic/diamniotic... it is possible to have id twins with their own sacs and placentas... just depends (as pp have said) on when the egg splits

You probably already have the answer to this but it amuses me how many people don't know (especially medical professionals!) That even if your twins have two sacs and two placentas (dichorionic/diamniotic) they CAN still be ID. My boys most definitely had a dividing membrane, their own sacs and one anterior and one posterior placenta. DNA testing has proved what we already suspected - most definitely ID twins

And as for personalities - they are nothing like 'clones' of each other. They are funny, sweet and most of all very different little individuals

Enjoy your pregnancy and the anticipation of your little bubbas!

Marnie