IDENTICAL TWINS?!

Im currently 29 weeks preggo w/ twin boys and I see my doctor every two weeks...which may change 2 every wk..and i have a level 2 u/s every month...I was just wondering what the chances were that my babies will be identical...there is one placenta and two sacs, but the membane separating them is very thin...and i have read that that's the case w/ identical twins being mono/di or something like that!!!! This is my first pregnancy and I've just been so anxious and worried about if they are or not!!!!

[AnnieBrooke]

I do believe that one placenta is a clear indicator that the twins are identical.  If they were fraternal they would each have their own placenta.  One shared placenta says that one egg formed and then split.

[Cardinal08]

THANKS ALOT FOR UR COMMENT....THAT MADE ME FEEL THAT MUCH MORE CONFIDENT IN WHAT I BELIEVED 4RM THE BEGINNING!!!!!!!

[Cardinal08]

I JUST WANTED 2 BRING THIS BACK TO THE FRONT JUST IN CASE ANYONE WAS IN THE SAME SITUATION OR HAVE BEEN BEFORE!!!

[treazzure007]

i just wanted to say congrats on your twins!  i'm happy you're excited b/c i can tell you having b/c a mother of a son at 19 myself, you have got your work cut out for you!!!  look forward to seeing you on here--everyday!

[kikicoates78]

Your Dr. should have told you???

[heatherlynn22]

not true annie.

my boys shared a placenta had two sacs and look NOTHING alike. i mean absolutely not one thing is the same. when they were born we weren't sure but didn't think they were identical so they sent the placenta to be tested to see if they were identical or fraternal...the tests came back inconclusive. but as they're getting older (5 months this month) it's become very clear they're the furthest thing from identical. one has lots of red hair the other has blonde peach fuzz. one has my nose one has gregs nose...and well there's a lot more. the only similarity between them is they both have gregs eyes.

you're gonna have to wait and see.  your doc can send the placenta to be tested when they're born or you'll be able to tell.

[AnnieBrooke]

Interesting.  Are they certain it was one placenta, and not two implanted very close together?  I guess you wouldn't know if the test of the placenta was inconclusive.  I assume that if there was ever a medical need to know, they could test the boys themselves?  (Don't know what that need to know might be...) is there not something about the DNA that shows whether babies are identicals or not?  

[Cardinal08]

Well in my case I do remember going to the doctor around 8wks and my doc said it was 2 but he was just kidding...at the time it was only 1(that we saw anyway) then the next week I went for a u/s and she announced that it was indeed two!!!!!!!

[heatherlynn22]

annie....no it was one placenta. and they'd have to do blood tests to be 100% sure but these two look absolutely  nothing alike. just the eyes. what one has of me the other has of the dh.  but if they really really needed to know the doc said they'd have to do blood tests.

[AnnieBrooke]

See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077080/ to see how rare fraternals sharing a placenta is.  It has been medically documented in only about 5 cases.  You might be dealing with what is called a "fused" placenta instead.

[Annice1234]

My dad and my aunt shared one placenta...obviously not identical.  However, it was documented in a medical journal because I don't think it's normal.

[Momofthreecrazykids]

I had ferternal twin girls two years ago and they had they're own placenta....so to me, having one is a true indicator that you have identical.  The tech hasn't said anything to you~or your doctor hasn't told you for sure?   I know placentas can fuse and make it one placenta...the only way they can tell is at birth by examining the placenta(s) and telling you...plus the obvious...that they look alike and close in birth weight~Good luck and best wishes to you~Twins are awesome!! :)
-Brandi

[heatherlynn22]

it wasn't a fused placenta. they are fraternal twins and they shared a placenta. it was tested, the DOCTORS told me they shared the placenta. i'm more inclined to believe my doctors then a study that you read on the internet.

[luv_babies]

I am pregnant with identical twins with a shared placenta. Having identical twins does not mean they will look alike. It only means they are genetically identical. For me, baby A has a cleft lip and palate, baby B does not, mine will obviously not look the same.
They do not have to do a blood test, they can do a simple DNA test using saliva from the cheek of each baby.
Heather- I am a little confused. You said the test on the placenta came back inconclusive, but then said the test came back that they are fraternal and shared a placenta??

[heatherlynn22]

yeah...i was talking to their pedi at their last appointment she said that when they tested the boys blood it came back that they were fraternal but did share a placenta.

[luv_babies]

Interesting...

[heatherlynn22]

yeah...i was confused about it all. but i have 2 healthy wonderful little boys and i couldn't be happier.

[AnnieBrooke]

If you are interested in googling the topic, the sentence I used that produced the most interesting information on what constitutes identical twins (in other words, addressing the original poster's question) was "Are all twins with one placenta identical?"  

I also checked the definition of identical twins.  Interestingly, one of the scientific papers I read mentioned that identical twins do not always look alike.  It apparently has to do with how early the embryo split, if earlier, it gives more time for the twins to look more or less different from each other.  

Apparently it is very rare and scientifically noteworthy when fraternal twins with one placenta are found.  Your boys are one of only five or six sets ever found who have this combination of characteristics. I am surprised their doctors have not wanted to write them up in a medical journal.

Your original post said the tests on the placenta were "inconclusive," and that you know the boys are fraternal because they do not look alike.  I guess if your doctors ever did want to write them up in a medical journal, they probably would want to review the placenta's tests and to test the boys.  But if they did and found that for sure they are fraternals who shared a placenta, it would be scientifically noteworthy.  Maybe you should consider doing it because it would add to the body of knowledge on this topic.  

[heatherlynn22]

i just posted that their pediatrician did blood work and that it came back they're fraternal. non of the doctors (my obs or their pediatrician) ever said anything to me about writing them up in any journals. if they wanted to....i really wouldn't mind. i could talk to their pediatrician about when i call to schedule their next wellness appointment. she didn't seem to think it was a big deal when she told me so i never thought anything more of it. i was just glad to finally know for sure that they were fraternal and not identical.

[peekawho]

Fused placentas can look so much like one placenta that it can sometimes be virtually impossible to tell that there were actually two in the beginning of the pregnancy.

If the placenta results were inconclusive, but the boys are not identical, then you'd either have to believe that they were only the 6th or 7th known case ever in the world, or that it was a fully fused placenta.  

I think I'd have to assume the placentas were so fused as to be virtually indistinguishable, and thus the "inconclusive" result from pathology.   This is pretty common.  

[AnnieBrooke]

Maybe that is why the doctors didn't make a big deal over it.

[tarrah87]

i know i'm a lil late posting but def identical twins if they share the same placenta, 2 sacs, i was pregnant with identical twins same placenta, 2 sacs ............GOOD LUCK! my ob doctor told me that anytime the twins share ne thing, placenta or sac they are identical

[Cardinal08]

WOW.....well im due anyday now and Im very excited and cant wait to see my lil buddles of joy.....thanks everyone for the comments!!!