Would You Scan For Twins And When?

[RachaelM]

I can't shake the twin feeling guys!

Here's why - 

* Feeling super tired and sick at 5.5 weeks, now 6 weeks and I could sleep for a week.

* Saying "baby" doesn't feel right. I imagine one baby growing in me and my head is like "nope!", but I imagine two boys and it feels normal, no surprise. 

*My uterus is halfway between my pubic bone and my navel. I have double checked this with an internal/external exam and it was definitely my uterus I was feeling. I used to be a student midwife and spent a lot of my days feeling and measuring bumps. 

*My dates are correct but when I took a HPT it said 2-3 weeks since conception, even though I was only 10DPO MAX - which was also a surprise as I didn't get a proper pink line with my last pregnancy until a day after my missed period. A week later I had little panic moment cause I was feeling fine, after a few days of sickness, and I caved and took another test. It said 3+ weeks...so the first wasn't a fluke. I would't normally buy those tests but it was the only one in my local supermarket.

*My mother in law has a psychic friend who I used to think was nuts but started to believe her over the years. She told me a few years ago I would have twin boys. I didn't believe her but now I think I might. I emailed her the other day to ask her if she still felt that way, as I had been pregnant for a very short time last year (just about 5 days past my period) and maybe this was what she picked up on. 

She wrote back today saying "Congratulations! It's twins. Fraternal. Well done for fertilising two healthy eggs. Look after yourself and give them lots of love"

So...with all my twin suspicions, that kind of threw me over the edge today. 

I'm doing my own pregnancy care, which I'm happy with whether it's twins of not but my question is would YOU get a scan if you suspected twins and WHEN would you get it? Also, why?

Personally, if I wasn't actually going through this myself right now I'd say wait until 12 weeks or 20 weeks (when routine scans are offered here by the NHS) and if I'm still measuring large, feeling more movement, other signs of twins, then go in and get one. If everything seems normal and measurements and intuition point to just one, then skip unnecessary scanning. 

But now I want to get one NOW to stop my head from bursting. 

I don't like unnecessary scanning, but my intuition isn't giving me a straight answer that I can be at peace with here. 

Thoughts?

[incorrigible]

Up until my last pregnancy I probably wouldn't have scanned. I would have prepped for twins, jic, but not told people my suspicions in case I was wrong. My last preg was a loss and kind of traumatizing, though. If it were me now, I would definitely scan. I don't think there's really a right or wrong answer to this one. The right answer is to do what feels right for you and your family and your circumstance. Have you talked to your dh about this? What does he think?

[RachaelM]

Sorry you've had to go through a traumatising loss, I hope you are healing well. Would you choose a scan because it would relieve your anxiety or for some other reason? Feel free to not answer that one if you don't wish to.

Yes I've talked to my husband about it and he's a smart guy. He knows how I really feel even when I don't!

He said no scans, because what would we do with the information?

And he's right, I would end up having to spend the rest of my pregnancy turning down all further scans and tests routinely done for twins as I wouldn't change my mind about starting the labour at home and planning for a home birth. 

Even if I got a scan at a private clinic, would we really be able to not tell anyone it was twins? Because if we did that would open the door to a whole load more unnecessary questioning and worrying from others. 

As you said, there really is no wrong or right and if I continue to measure large and feel I would be better prepared in knowing then I won't hesitate to go back on what I've said here. It's really all about taking it day to day and making the decision with the information we've got. I don't know how the pregnancy will unfold so I can't plan anything with any certainty. 

Ah, what an exciting journey whether it's one or two. I lay in the bath earlier and asked myself and felt a definite TWO in my mind. Whether or not it will continue as two I don't know. I read something like 1 in 8 pregnancies starts as twins but very few continue, but don't quote me on that, I only read it on the internet!

[Linnaea]

It sounds like you have it figured out now, but I thought I'd add my two cents jic.  If I suspected twins, I would get an ultrasound to help me understand all the logistics that come along with carrying and birthing twins.  I would also get an additional ultrasound done near the end of the pregnancy to see how they are positioned.  While I trust birth (having had 2 unassisted births), I also know that it's important to be prepared.  Preparation doesn't necessarily mean worrying about every little detail, in my eyes it means making the most well-informed decisions based on the current circumstances.  What's the point in being in the dark if you don't have to be?  Intuition is important, it helps me prepare, but modern-day technology also has benefits, too.  Also, just because you get an ultrasound and whatever medical assistance doesn't mean you have to go along with medical advice.  You also don't have to tell anyone it's twins when you're pregnant if you're concerned about people's negative attitudes and what not.  

[RachaelM]

Originally Posted by Linnaea 

It sounds like you have it figured out now, but I thought I'd add my two cents jic.  If I suspected twins, I would get an ultrasound to help me understand all the logistics that come along with carrying and birthing twins.  I would also get an additional ultrasound done near the end of the pregnancy to see how they are positioned.  While I trust birth (having had 2 unassisted births), I also know that it's important to be prepared.  Preparation doesn't necessarily mean worrying about every little detail, in my eyes it means making the most well-informed decisions based on the current circumstances.  What's the point in being in the dark if you don't have to be?  Intuition is important, it helps me prepare, but modern-day technology also has benefits, too.  Also, just because you get an ultrasound and whatever medical assistance doesn't mean you have to go along with medical advice.  You also don't have to tell anyone it's twins when you're pregnant if you're concerned about people's negative attitudes and what not.  

Thanks Linnea, I'm always interested in other's opinions too, gives me more to ponder.

Yesterday I had tried to call a local private scan clinic to ask about the best time to book to detect twins. I just got this weird beeping and then got cut off. I left it at that as it had just been a quick query I wanted to make. 

Well this morning they called me back and said they's been having trouble with their phones and saw I'd tried to call....

When I went to bed last night I 'asked' for some clarity during my sleep. I often find that while my conscious mind is asleep I can figure out what my intuition is saying to me a bit more. As much as I want to avoid necessary scanning, I woke up this morning with the peaceful feeling of "get a scan, then you will know, it's too much for you to prepare for your first UC AND consider two possibilities at once (singleton/twins)". Sometimes our intuition leads us to places we don't really want to go, doesn't it!

So when I got this call I just went ahead and made an appointment for next week to check it out. Private clinic, they have no authority to contact my doctor and I don't need to tell anyone if it is twins, although I find it hard to imagine keeping it to myself. 

I've learned an important lesson here too. I realise I had some judgements in my mind about unnecessary scanning, especially these baby scanning clinics. Actually booking in to get one now is bringing up these emotions and letting me examine them. I am always working on letting go of my judgements of others and so this is a good lesson. 

I might not change my plans based on the information of having twins, but it would mean I could actually prepare KNOWING there were two instead of having plan A (singleton) and Plan B (twins).

Thanks for listening. Still interested to hear what others would do during their pregnancy if they were carrying twins. 

[sapientia]

I'd go with my instinct and prepare for the possibility of twins (delivery techniques, etc.) I'd personally go ahead and UC or go with a midwife who didn't mind an 'oops twins' delivery. Unless of course, I had any sort of instinct that something was off. That's my comfort level. :)

[fayebond]

I would want to wait until the 12 week mark to see them but doubt my patience would last that long.  No late term US for me since that's how my first babe went breech!  However, I'd be wary of any warning signs during pregnancy, and probably do co-care with a midwife and a local OB in case of premature delivery or other problems.  I'd still turn down a gamut of tests but not as many as I would reject for a single baby.  Twins are awesome but put all three people at higher risk for things going wrong, and if I needed the NICU, I'd really rather go in as a patient of OB So-and-So then a "home birth gone wrong." Then again, the nearest hospital to me has a great NICU program with skin on skin and everything, so the main problem to watch for would be not-nice nurses: nurses are always nicer when your OB writes good things on your chart...

[Sharlla]

no i would not scan for twins.  there are other ways later in PG to determine twins. 

[RachaelM]

Originally Posted by Sharlla 

no i would not scan for twins.  there are other ways later in PG to determine twins. 

I would have agreed and said the same for myself until I actually started to feel this way. Now I feel more at ease getting a scan so I can stop tormenting myself.

[incorrigible]

Originally Posted by RachaelM 

Sorry you've had to go through a traumatising loss, I hope you are healing well. Would you choose a scan because it would relieve your anxiety or for some other reason? Feel free to not answer that one if you don't wish to.

Thanks. I think I am, actually. I'm have high hopes that the underlying condition is just about under control, and I might find myself with a BFP sometime next year (maybe even toward the end of this year, if a little good luck falls my way)

Basically, I would want to scan to reassure myself that it IS twins, and not some other who knows what that might endanger myself or the baby if I don't react to it. Healthy babies don't worry me, even lots of them. lol I have no qualms going into some random clinic outside my local area for a single test or scan under the guise of "traveling" though. So, I wouldn't be worried about said clinic having any ability to pressure me in the future. I'd just order a copy of my file "to give my doctor" and be done. ;)

I seem to attract unlikely random elements in life...both good and bad...and sometimes need a little extra information to be sure which kind I've ended up with this time around! lol 

I'm glad you figured out what you wanted to do and did it. =D Be sure to come back and let us know the results. I'm excited to know if you're having twins after all...especially with all the build up you've been given by others! 

[lia_joy]

Even though the OP seems to be resolved, I just happened by today so thought I'd share my experience.  I posted a very similar question last year (october if anyone is interested & wants to find the thread) I'd had 3 UCs before that pregnancy & decided that I would very likely do things differently for twins (not because I feel twins can't be done unassisted, but I just didn't feel confident about *those* twins) and especially to find out what type of twins because if they share a placenta/amniotic sac there are greater risks of complications and that's something I would have wanted to watch.

ideally, I would tend towards waiting til later in the pregnancy when there's actually something you can do if there's  a complication, but what it really came down to for me was processing & preparation. As soon as I really got in touch with my intuition and KNEW it was twins, I couldn't wait & wanted the scan right away, which was between 8 & 9 weeks.  The ultrasound confirmed twins, but only one heartbeat -- Vanishing Twin Syndrome.  I'm really greatful that we had a chance to get visual confirmation.  The twin sense took a month to go away and even after that the pregnancy continued to be extra exhausting with lots of confusing intuitive feelings arising.  I chose a hospital birth which unfolded beautifully without complication. my daughter is just over 2 months now & I'm still not sure if I felt the hospital was neccessary because of something that *she* needed or if it was left over feelings from the other baby who obviously was not healthy. 

I believe that often when women have a very strong feeling they're carrying twins, but don't end up with 2 babies its an undiagnosed  vanishing twin they were picking up on.

[Jennyfriend1978]

I too could not shake the feeling of twins due to the extreme fatigue I experienced in the first trimester- it was quite pronounced and much more severe tan with my daughter.

I am 22 weeks and still have had no ultrasound, but my twin suspicion vanished when I saw that my levels of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone were on the high side- 4.2

Just putting that out there...

[Jennyfriend1978]

Turns out my fatigue WAS b/c of TSH levels, Im due any day with a singleton (:

[k x s]

congratulations =)

[BlessedJess]

Would I scan for twins? Just made that choice. The answer was no. We did hear two heartbeats a couple times halfway through but didn't want to push their bodies by constant probing and interference. PM me if you want to read my birth story. I gave birth to one 3.5 pound breech baby boy at home in water at 36 weeks (almost 36 weeks by less than an hour) and he was very healthy, seeming to break every law of physics to even be here in the form he is. He's very precocious and well adjusted, as though he was born full term. At the start I called him my "Tom Thumb" because he was born at 15 inches long. I can barely believe it myself. Especially since now he's a very adorable, plump, charming 9.5lb 12 week baby who smiles at everybody and is very aware of his surroundings. Not that skinny little boy. So he's still small but we are very small people, my husband and I. Very unusual for North Americans. I'm 4'11" and my husband a half foot taller.

The point is - being outside the norm sets off flags when there isn't a cause for concern sometimes. You can't hold a grayhound pup to the same standards as a teacup poodle pup in terms of healthy proportions. Twins aren't unhealthy unless they are unhealthy - and the standards are too inflexible when applied to the human race to be individually realistic. Lots of alarms go off that you shouldn't be stressed by and interventions are needlessly started.

Another thing - placentas form in the first half of the pregnancy. If you were low in magnesium then, you can expect smaller babies. Especially with twins.

Honestly, I suspect I had triplets and lost ID twins before the age of viability - otherwise I should have had two small healthy babies. Nothing was wrong with Mike, despite being small because nutrition balance was excellent in the last half of the pregnancy when I overcame magnesium resistance. I would not tamper with triplets at that pre-viability age because of the danger to the other unaffected baby. So the testing would not have helped the outcome, I believe. It would have just made me miserable and thus less healthy myself to know I was losing babies. I recovered really, really well after the birth, despite gaining extra weight. (48 pound gain, 5 pound birth weight loss)

Edited by BlessedJess - 1/23/13 at 12:52pm

[Kharma1182]

I don't know for sure that I'd scan for twins, if I wasn't already planning to.  But I'd want some kind of verification.  My reason being this.  With my sister's sixth home birth (fifth UC), she was SURE it was twins.  Absolutely positive.  She had a calm, wonderful UC with her hubby (I was in the living room taking care of the older kids), but discovering that there was only one baby when she had fallen in love with two, was a huge loss to her.  It took her a while to get over that one.  So if "you" (anyone) decides not to scan, please just don't get your hopes up too high, or get too attached to the idea (unless of course, it's undeniable that there's two, lol).  Don't set yourself up for disappointment and depression, following an otherwise perfect birth.  :-)

[BlessedJess]

Originally Posted by Kharma1182 

I don't know for sure that I'd scan for twins, if I wasn't already planning to.  But I'd want some kind of verification.  My reason being this.  With my sister's sixth home birth (fifth UC), she was SURE it was twins.  Absolutely positive.  She had a calm, wonderful UC with her hubby (I was in the living room taking care of the older kids), but discovering that there was only one baby when she had fallen in love with two, was a huge loss to her.  It took her a while to get over that one.  So if "you" (anyone) decides not to scan, please just don't get your hopes up too high, or get too attached to the idea (unless of course, it's undeniable that there's two, lol).  Don't set yourself up for disappointment and depression, following an otherwise perfect birth.  :-)

You sister wasn't me. Just wanted to make sure all here knew that.  ;) Otherwise the story sounds familiar. I still think it was worth it to avoid the scan, however. For us, we feel that there must have been more than one at the start. Too many signs pointed that way. Too many all at once. And the baby we got was microscopic but healthy and early at 3.5 pounds and 36 weeks.

How big was her baby? Did she have a big placenta? Did she ever hear more than one heartbeat?

[Kharma1182]

Originally Posted by BlessedJess 

You sister wasn't me. Just wanted to make sure all here knew that.  ;) Otherwise the story sounds familiar. I still think it was worth it to avoid the scan, however. For us, we feel that there must have been more than one at the start. Too many signs pointed that way. Too many all at once. And the baby we got was microscopic but healthy and early at 3.5 pounds and 36 weeks.

How big was her baby? Did she have a big placenta? Did she ever hear more than one heartbeat?

Honestly, I can't answer any of those questions, because I have no idea.  Baby seemed like a normal newborn size to me (I wasn't yet a mother), placenta was never mentioned to me, and neither were heartbeats.  And she hasn't spoken to me in years now, so I wouldn't be able to find out.  But I do remember her talking in the last month or so about being able to feel, through her belly, where each baby's butt and head were, so she really did think there were two fully developed babies in there.  She never was any larger (to my eye) than she was with any previous pregnancy though. 

[BlessedJess]

I forgot to add what I've decided to do in the future if I ever again suspect twins. Pretend it's just one. Very simple. ;-)

I have had 5 other children (two other UP pregnancies) and this was the first time I was made to feel I had twins. Usually every last suspicion clears up by 36 weeks when you can feel the baby clearly. The last time I also noticed that I couldn't feel more than one a week or two before the birth. Although since he was in the habit of changing positions it took almost the entire pregnancy to realize that I couldn't feel two for sure. I even expressed my concern about this privately to my husband prior to the birth, but we had already heard two distinct heartbeats, so I just had to give birth and see what we had.

So while you can be wrong, the good news is that likely you will figure out if you don't have twins prior to giving birth. Sometimes you won't know until birth, but often you will know ahead of time.

Edited by BlessedJess - 1/31/13 at 12:24pm

[brightstarshine]

I suspect twins here too.but I am going to wait.

I have had 2 previous losses,though I feel I would have experienced those losses anyway,whether I had a scan or not.

for me this pregnancy is about having faith,but that doesn't mean that I would think having a scan is wrong,there's no right and wrong way about it,you have to do what is right for you.

you could have a scan quietly and still not tell anyone.this is your pregnancy,this is your time.