Tuesday, September 05, 2006

One Instead Of Two

We had our second sonogram today, and we had some good news and some bad news.
The first baby is doing great, but the second baby is no longer with us.
This is called "vanishing twin syndrome".

The Mayo Clinic's Complete Book Of Pregnancy & Baby's First Year gives this explanation:
When an ultrasound exam is used in the first trimester of pregnancy, twins can be diagnosed as early as six or seven weeks past your last menstrual period. However, succeeding exams sometimes reveal that one of the twins has died and virtually disappeared. This phenomenon is sometimes called the vanishing twin syndrome. Up to one-half of all pregnancies that begin as twins result in a single fetus that is carried to term.
The cause of vanishing twin syndrome is unclear, but there might have been a problem with the genetic material or early development of the fetus...However, vanishing twin syndrome appears to be a spontaneous event, and there is no evidence to indicate that the mother has any control of this outcome.

This explanation pretty much fits us to a tea.
Theresa is doing just fine, and we still have one slightly larger bundle of joy to be SO thankful for.
The journey continues...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats you guys!

Anonymous said...

Nick and Theresa, Thank you for your email so that we could learn of the happenings in your life. Congrats on the little one you are expecting -- he or she will indeed change you lives. Parenthood is another tool the Lord gives us to teach us of Himself!!
Jennifer Loftin

Tanya said...

Congratulations! So glad to hear of your exciting news! We'll be praying that everything goes well with the rest of your pregnancy! Tanya