Diamniotic dichorionic twins are not uncommon these days. Statistics show that most often such a multiple pregnancy occurs in women aged 35 to 39 years. The reasons for such fertilization are hormonal disorders in the body, including hormonal stimulation in the treatment of female diseases. Such twins are born in 30% of cases of multiple pregnancies. If the frequency of twins is correlated with the number of singleton pregnancies, then for every 100 normal births there are 4-5 diamniotic dichorionic twins.
What is a diamniotic dichorionic twin?
In medicine, four types of twins are distinguished, which occur only with two methods of conception:
- When two eggs are fertilized simultaneously or with an interval of up to a week by two different spermatozoa. Eachthe baby is in a separate amniotic sac and has its own placenta. This pregnancy is called diamniotic dichorionic twins. Children can have different genders and different looks.
- When the egg is divided into two full-fledged parts after a certain period of time after fertilization. If the division occurred within 2-3 days, each fetus may have a separate amniotic sac and its own placenta. If the division occurred at a later period, the babies will have both the chorion and the amnion. Only the chorion or only the amniotic sac may be common. Such a pregnancy is called monochorionic twins (diamniotic or monoamniotic). Children have the same set of chromosomes and the same appearance and gender.
Diamniotic dichorionic twins weekly
It is possible to determine the presence of twins by hardware only from the 5-6th week of pregnancy. The gynecologist can suspect the presence of two babies during examination only from the 9-10th week. Only at this time the uterus begins to grow more intensively and does not correspond to the size in time. Pregnancy with twins is most often accompanied by early toxicosis. It is much more severe than with a singleton pregnancy, it can return at a later date. Such a pregnancy is more optimal for mom and kids than monochorionic. Consider how diamniotic dichorionic twins develop week by week.
First trimester
- 1-4th weeks do not differ from a singleton pregnancy, the only thing is that toxicosis canappear a week after fertilization.
- 5-8 weeks: Each baby is about 2 cm long by the end of the 8th week. The bodies are fully formed. Fingers appeared, but they still have membranes. The umbilical cord has formed, the placenta is still developing. Mom has toxicosis. This is the most dangerous period for a miscarriage.
- 9-12 weeks: time for an ultrasound. The examination will confirm that the woman has diamniotic dichorionic twins. In babies, teeth are laid, by the end of the term the genitals are formed. The babies are already 6 cm long and weigh 6-9 g. By the end of the 12th week, the chance of miscarriage decreases.
Second trimester
- 13-16 weeks: the belly of a pregnant woman visually looks 2-2 weeks longer than with a singleton pregnancy, it is already clearly visible. Babies actively move, frown, suck their fingers, sleep a lot, wake up about once an hour.
- 17-20 weeks: babies push well with legs and arms, they are about 25 cm tall and weigh 300 g each. The intestines are already fully functioning in children, they independently pee into the amniotic fluid, which is updated several times a day. Polyhydramnios may occur.
- 21-24 weeks: Lungs begin to mature. A pregnant woman may have back pain and swollen legs. Children weigh 600 g each. During this period, ultrasound is performed, you can determine the sex, diagnose the presence or absence of congenital malformations, the dichorionic diamniotic twins are clearly visible in the photo.
Third trimester
- 25-28weeks: children accumulate fat, the nervous system, vision and hearing, and the vestibular apparatus are formed. In mom, the bottom of the uterus rises 30 cm from the pubis.
- 29-32 weeks: babies are about 37 cm tall and weigh 1.3-1.6 kg. During this period, ultrasound is done, which allows you to determine the readiness of children for birth, detect deviations in the chorion and omnion, predict and plan the course of labor activity.
- 33-36 weeks: Babies weigh about 2kg and have a heart rate of about 120 beats per minute. The head of one child goes down, the second is most often in a breech presentation. By 36 weeks, a woman can give birth at any time.
- 37-40 weeks: babies are fully ready to be born, in height and weight they lag behind their singleton peers. Most often, babies will appear at the 37-38th week. There is a high probability of planned preservation of pregnancy before childbirth. By this period, the mother's weight increases by 15-17 kg.
Can a woman give birth to twins on her own?
If a woman has dichorionic diamniotic twins, childbirth can occur either naturally or by planned caesarean section. It all depends on the course of pregnancy and related complications. If a pregnant woman has a severe form of late toxicosis, preeclampsia, severe varicose veins and other aggravating troubles, there is a high probability of a caesarean section. Caesarean section is carried out with a transverse or pelvic presentation of both babies. The decision is made by physicians based on multiple ultrasound results and observations of the coursepregnancy. The optimal condition for natural childbirth is the head presentation of both children, the head presentation of one of them and the foot presentation of the second are also acceptable. In other cases, there is a high probability of performing a cesarean.
Twins and Ultrasound
If dichorionic diamniotic twins are suspected, ultrasound photo confirms this fact only from 5-6 weeks. In the later stages (32-36 weeks), you can “lose” one child in hardware. This is because one baby overlaps the second during ultrasound and the latter becomes invisible to the device. Pregnancy with twins requires more frequent ultrasound examinations due to the risk of developing pathologies and complications in babies. The survey allows you to set:
- twin zygosity type;
- child viability;
- future labor management;
- pronounced pathology of children or one of them;
- the presence of polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios in each of them;
- biometric parameters, degree of development, compliance with the gestational age;
- fading one of the fetuses at any time allows you to save the second child under favorable conditions, the likelihood of developing pathology and defects in a living baby is no more than 10%.
Dangers for twins
Dichorionic diamniotic twins develop more favorably than monozygotic twins. This is due to the fact that babies have separateamniotic sacs and placenta, they are independent of each other. However, these babies are also in danger. One of them is the freezing of one of the fruits. You should not worry about this. If the fading occurred in the second trimester and later, the dead fetus is mummified, which is not dangerous for the woman in labor and the second child. The second danger is the likelihood of polyhydramnios due to the fact that through the shunt between the placentas, blood is discharged to one of the babies more strongly, which is why the baby urinates more often, and polyhydramnios is gradually formed. In this regard, children may vary in weight. Starting from the 32nd week, babies begin to lag behind in height and weight. For children, this is not dangerous; this fact does not affect the mental and physical development in any way. The lag is due to the fact that there is little space left in the uterus. After birth, babies will quickly catch up with their peers in weight and height.
