I can't sleep. Today at 2pm we have an appointment with the maternal-fetal specialist. I hear he's very nice. I keep telling myself that I should go lay down and get some sleep, but I can't stop thinking about Emma and Olivia.
Last night when I also couldn't sleep, I looked up some information on monochorionic diamniotic twins. Monochorionic means that the babies share a placenta. This means they are identical. Diamniotic means they each have their own amniotic sac, which is what keeps them from having the possibility of the umbilical chord wrapping around them (which is a problem with monochorionic monamniotic) and it also means that the twins will not be conjoined, also a good thing to know. Of the different types of identical twins, the mono/di is the most common. Unfortunately, this is the type that has the highest incidence of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). It only happens in about 15% of the mono/di pregnancies. There is a 1 in 930 chance of getting TTTS in a given pregnancy.
The problem with TTTS, is that it has nothing to do with the babies. The babies are healthy, it's the placenta. Getting diagnosed before 25 weeks is more serious (and I'm at 19 weeks) because the babies cannot be delivered this early. There are different ways that they try to treat TTTS, but I haven't really been able to understand what exactly it is that they do. I do know that one treatment is laser surgery, but I don't know what that entails.
Our appointment today is a screening to determine if this is what the problem is. It could be that the babies are just two different sizes. I try to remind myself to think on the positive side, but I don't want to be all sunshiney and then have the worst-case scenerio happen and not be prepared for it. I figure if I research everything, good and bad, then I won't be surprised. If I know all about the bad and am ready for it, and we get good news, I'll be that much happier.
If anyone is interested in this subject, you should check out the TTTS Foundation. It has a lot of good information. Ok, off to try to take a nap. *yawn* Keep our family in your thoughts throughout the day please.
Stephanie, Ricky, Emma & Olivia
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