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Boy/Girl twins from a single embryo transfer?!? How is this possible???
Okay, ladies. So, I'll be 18 weeks pregnant on Thursday with diamniotic/dichorionic twins resulting from a single embryo transfer. This whole time we've been told they are identical, obviously because they came from one egg/one sperm. However, at my u/s appt yesterday, an u/s tech and two docs were convinced that I'm having one boy & one girl. Of course they were stumped & now I'm concerned as to whether my babies will be okay. It's not definite just yet. I have my anatomy scan on Nov. 11, so we'll see for sure, but they did seem certain... Now I need to find out from my RE if it's possible that two embryos were transferred by mistake or if (God Forbid) someone else's embryo was transferred with mine, and what the risks are with boy/girl twins if in fact it was just a single embryo as we originally thought. Please let me know if you've heard of anything that can help ease my mind & please pray that my babies are okay!!! Thanks, ladies ;)
I also have had only one egg transferred and found out that I'm expecting a boy and a girl. I am very worried that my daughter will have Turner's Syndrome due to a chromosomal abnormality. I'm really hoping that they are fraternal and one just happened to be conceived naturally, although I'm not convinced because I only had 9 eggs to retrieve and they're sure they got them all. "Mommyin10", did you end up having fraternal twins? I'd love to know that this is in fact a possibility.
OMG Thank God for the internet. I also had only one embryo transferred and on our 7 wks scan we were shocked to discover we were having identical twins.
I had another scan today (10 weeks) and it seems like they have two different sacs and possibly two different placentas, which I thought only happened with fraternal twins. So I wonder if they transferred two embryos by mistake? And I was thinking that if they turned out to be one boy and one girl then they definitely made a mistake. But now that I read about your case I will know there might have been another possibility,
I had another scan today (10 weeks) and it seems like they have two different sacs and possibly two different placentas, which I thought only happened with fraternal twins. So I wonder if they transferred two embryos by mistake? And I was thinking that if they turned out to be one boy and one girl then they definitely made a mistake. But now that I read about your case I will know there might have been another possibility,
Hi mommy in 10,
I hear every word you are saying!!!!! I gave birth to my twins in November 2009, and yes I too went through IVF and had a single embryo transfer. At six weeks there were two sacs, and we were told we were having identical twins! At my 1st ultrasound they could only tell the sex of one of the babies - a boy. The other was in a position too hard to tell. So my husband and I assumed identical twin boys - given we had a single embryo transfer. At the 20 week scan, they asked us if we wanted to know the sex of our babies and we said we already knew one was a boy and assumed the other was as well. Anyway, imagine our surprise when they said one was a girl and one was a boy!!!!! We were in disbelief and kept asking them to check again and again. Every scan I had from then on, I always had them check - only to be told the same thing - a boy and a girl! I still couldn't believe it, and didn't dare buy any girl clothes (I already have a 18mth old son). We asked our OB how this could be possible and she said..."one is IVF and the other natural" OR "both natural" (after having ruled out that we definitely only had one embryo transferred, which we did!!). Anyway, I can totally agree with your feelings! I stressed that maybe someone else's egg had been put in me, then I worried about what my twins would look like. I worried about how there could be a boy and a girl twin, and hoped that the single embryo hadn't mutated someway causing something to be wrong with one of my babies. It was horrible!!!!! Good news though - I gave birth to two very healthy babies by planned c-section at 36weeks and 6 days. My boy weighed 6.8pounds and my girl 7.5pounds and they look like myself and my husband (phew!!!). Anyway, so yes it does somehow happen (I now think of it as being blessed). Please try not to worry any more and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. I guess miracles do happen sometimes, and in this case we are the lucky receipients :)
I hear every word you are saying!!!!! I gave birth to my twins in November 2009, and yes I too went through IVF and had a single embryo transfer. At six weeks there were two sacs, and we were told we were having identical twins! At my 1st ultrasound they could only tell the sex of one of the babies - a boy. The other was in a position too hard to tell. So my husband and I assumed identical twin boys - given we had a single embryo transfer. At the 20 week scan, they asked us if we wanted to know the sex of our babies and we said we already knew one was a boy and assumed the other was as well. Anyway, imagine our surprise when they said one was a girl and one was a boy!!!!! We were in disbelief and kept asking them to check again and again. Every scan I had from then on, I always had them check - only to be told the same thing - a boy and a girl! I still couldn't believe it, and didn't dare buy any girl clothes (I already have a 18mth old son). We asked our OB how this could be possible and she said..."one is IVF and the other natural" OR "both natural" (after having ruled out that we definitely only had one embryo transferred, which we did!!). Anyway, I can totally agree with your feelings! I stressed that maybe someone else's egg had been put in me, then I worried about what my twins would look like. I worried about how there could be a boy and a girl twin, and hoped that the single embryo hadn't mutated someway causing something to be wrong with one of my babies. It was horrible!!!!! Good news though - I gave birth to two very healthy babies by planned c-section at 36weeks and 6 days. My boy weighed 6.8pounds and my girl 7.5pounds and they look like myself and my husband (phew!!!). Anyway, so yes it does somehow happen (I now think of it as being blessed). Please try not to worry any more and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. I guess miracles do happen sometimes, and in this case we are the lucky receipients :)
by the way its possible they explained it in the National Geographic documentary " in the womb multiples"
Thanks :) I appreciate your kind words. I, too, feel like everything will be just fine :) There are so many possibilities right now & worrying about it won't do anything but stress out my precious little ones, so we'll just wait til our next appt & see what the testing & ultrasound show :) My doctors weren't worried. They were just confused :) So, I'll update after Nov 11, but I thank you for taking the time to respond to my post :)
From what you have described....tubes open, mature follicules present and BD'ing, I would say that you conceived one of the babies naturally. That would be the only explanation, if it is proven that there is nothing genetically wrong with both babies. If that's what happened, you are carrying a MIRACLE pregnancy. How joyous for you and DH.
If the doctor's come up with the same scenerio as I did, they too would be overjoyed, at your miracle pregnancy. Everything was just right for a pregnancy and implantation to occur, so if there was one little egg, playing around in the tubes, is sounds like one of hubby's little fella's caught that egg and said, "Come on baby, you're coming with me." And down the tube they went...as one.
I am excited for you and do not feel that anything is wrong genetically. I feel it deep in my bones. I think the doctor is probably going to tell you the same thing, after they finish with all their testing. For now, rejoice that both babies look normal and heathy. Please try to stay relaxed and enjoy your babies. Whether from one egg or two. Tech's still can be wrong about the sexes. I've heard it happen on the Forum's over and over.
Enjoy your pregnancy. I know you are scratching your head trying to figure it all out, but I am SURE that both babies are just fine.....I told you...I just FEEL it, in my bones.
God Blessings,
Heather from the MS Forum
If the doctor's come up with the same scenerio as I did, they too would be overjoyed, at your miracle pregnancy. Everything was just right for a pregnancy and implantation to occur, so if there was one little egg, playing around in the tubes, is sounds like one of hubby's little fella's caught that egg and said, "Come on baby, you're coming with me." And down the tube they went...as one.
I am excited for you and do not feel that anything is wrong genetically. I feel it deep in my bones. I think the doctor is probably going to tell you the same thing, after they finish with all their testing. For now, rejoice that both babies look normal and heathy. Please try to stay relaxed and enjoy your babies. Whether from one egg or two. Tech's still can be wrong about the sexes. I've heard it happen on the Forum's over and over.
Enjoy your pregnancy. I know you are scratching your head trying to figure it all out, but I am SURE that both babies are just fine.....I told you...I just FEEL it, in my bones.
God Blessings,
Heather from the MS Forum
Thank you so much for your support :) I really appreciate it. I'm not freaking out or anything. I'm just concerned that there may be a problem, but I'm trying to stay positive, to wait til my next appt when we'll know more. My RE is awesome. He called me yesterday & we talked. He's also been talking with my ob and with the high risk doc, so I feel like I'm in excellent hands :) He called me again last night after I got home from work & said he had spent the whole afternoon at their lab going over everything, trying to determine if it's even possible that they transferred two embryos. His conclusion is that, no, it's not possible & it's 1000 % impossible that they transferred someone else's, which is good news. He basically trusts the high risk doc who did my u/s and said that he's known her for 20+ years. If she says there's one boy and one girl, he trusts that (although dh and I will wait til Nov. 11th to see what that u/s shows). So, my RE says one of two things happened. Either we conceived on our own while going through IVF... We bd'd, I think, 5 days prior & he said dh's swimmers were good & could live for up to a week, plus my tubes were open. I had 22 eggs retrieved, so he said honestly if they missed one or two, they wouldn't have worried about it. If I only had 5-6 or so, they would have fought to retrieve each and every one, which makes sense. So, there could have been one left over that met a swimmer... So, that's one possibility. The other is not so good & that would be if there's a chromosomal abnormality with one. So, I did bloodwork yesterday & we'll go back on the 11th of Nov. to meet with a genetic counselor and go over that blood work. It should tell us our percentage for having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality & if it's high, we'll probably do an amnio. The amnio will determine the sex & if it says two boys & one doesn't have male genitalia on the u/s, then obviously there's a problem. So, dh & I have decided to just stay positive & wait for Nov. 11th's findings and u/s, but there is that worry in the back of my mind. So, please, keep my babies in your thoughts & prayers & hopefully everything will work out for them. I'm just happy that I'm being followed by a lot of good docs & I feel like I'm in good hands :)
Yes please don't worry. Sorry if i didnt make that easy with my comment :X *hugs*
all i can say is please dont stress too muchon this..u are pregnant and u need to be mentally relaxed in the best way possible. the morethinking and stressing would create problems whcih i am sure youwould not want...so please just relax...we sometimes tend to obsess toomuch about what we have really wanted for years...and that obsession for the want turns it the other way round for us...i wish for everything to turn out find and i know that it will..so relax and chill..dont worry ...
They can be mistaken too. Dont' stress over it. I know Nov seems like a LONG time from now, but when it comes, you'll find out for sure, right? I'm sorry they sprung this on you. *HUGS* Sometimes Dr./Techs make me mad. They worry you for no reason...
Oh NO! I'm sorry to hear. I always thought from searching ultrasound pics online that when you have identical twins from one embryo, they're both in one sac. when i saw yours, they look like they were seperated, which i thought you had two embryo's transfered, that's when i asked if you had two transfered, and you said no, just one. so i thought that wa strange... Maybe they just didnt see baby #2's wee wee :) I googled some u/s pics of twin identicals and faternal twins...but i also did found this and it proves i'm wrong:
Fraternal twins have their separate set of placenta and sacs within which they grow. So, if your twins have separate sacs and placenta, they are usually fraternal twins. Identical twins on the other hand may or may not have separate sacs and placenta.
This often leads to confusion as to whether they are identical or fraternal. If the zygote (the fertilized egg) divides early enough, there will be two sacs, each with their own placentas. If they divide late, the two babies may share a sac and a placenta. This is considered complicated from a medical point of view. When twins share a sac, they are more prone to having problems with the cord etc.
Fraternal twins have their separate set of placenta and sacs within which they grow. So, if your twins have separate sacs and placenta, they are usually fraternal twins. Identical twins on the other hand may or may not have separate sacs and placenta.
This often leads to confusion as to whether they are identical or fraternal. If the zygote (the fertilized egg) divides early enough, there will be two sacs, each with their own placentas. If they divide late, the two babies may share a sac and a placenta. This is considered complicated from a medical point of view. When twins share a sac, they are more prone to having problems with the cord etc.
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