blighted twin

Posted by Lisa on May 05, 1999 at 12:08:22
I am 12 weeks pregnant and during my second pre-natal care visit, my OB-GYN discovered what he called a "Blighted Twin".  I concieved twins, one is very healthy and the other did not form, for reasons unknown.  I have not experienced any bleeding or discomfort.  I wanted to know if the blighted fetus will affect the growth of the healthy fetus or if you can possibly direct me to any articles mentioning this condition.
Thank you.

Posted by hfhs.md.db on May 06, 1999 at 14:56:42
"Vanishing twin syndrome" is consistent with what you describe, and really has resulted from the widespread use of first trimester ultrasound. Prior to this, we simply did not know how frequent a "syndrome" of early loss of one sac of a presumed early twin gestation was. In general, your chances of a normal pregnancy outcome are the same as if this ultrasonographic finding had not been seen.