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Useful Definitions and Terms
Reader's Questions and Answers: |
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NOTE: Answers provided are of a general nature only and in no way reflect a medical opinion or diagnosis. If you are in doubt about any aspect of your pregnancy, please consult your physician immediately.
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Feedback:
April, 2006
Are twins considered viable at a different gestational age than singletons?
From Lynda:
This is a great question and the short answer is 'no.' Not too much being easy in this world, there are qualifiers. Ideally a baby needs to have about 40 weeks gestation to have a healthy chance a life and a decent birth weight. The same is so for twins. Life being what it is, things don't always work that way. The type of twins will have a bearing, particularly monozygotics (identicals) as there are variations within that group of what their make up could be: one amnion, one chorion (the rarest); one amnion, two chorions (also quite rare); two amnions, two chorions (many fall into this category too). I've known of many 25-weekers who do very well and some where both don't and also where one does and one doesn't. You can see how complicated it can be and some is just luck. I like the analogy that having a baby or babies is like making a cake. If cooking time is one hour, taking the cake out of the oven at half an hour, 40 minutes, 45 minutes or 55 minutes will give different scenarios. One other difference for twins is that there is no rule which states that the available maternal nutrition will be equally shared between the twins (amongst triplets or more too) and this, too, can impact on each baby's health. I hope this is helpful.
Feedback:
I would like to know if twins share one placenta?
From Lynda:
Dizygotic twins have one chorion and one placenta each.
Monozygotic twins (which can also occur in higher order multiples, i.e. triplets and higher) can share one placenta and if they do, there is a risk for Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (see article on my Site). They can also each have their own placentas, with no problems at all.
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