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Vanishing Twin Syndrome

A Mysterious Occurrence in Multiple Pregnancies

By Teri Brown

Dr. Robert Atlas says it can be very hard for a woman expecting twins to find out that one of her babies has disappeared. "Many women who are diagnosed early in pregnancy but are not rescanned until later are devastated that they only have a singleton versus a twin and so forth," says Dr. Atlas. "It can be emotionally very difficult for women who have this type of loss."

 

Dr. Atlas says vanishing twin syndrome is where there is a multifetal gestation and there is an arrest of development and subsequent reabsorption of one or more fetuses.

Often, an early ultrasound identifies twins. Sometimes two heartbeats can be seen. Sometimes only gestational sacs can be seen – the earliest sign of an intrauterine pregnancy. In a follow-up ultrasound, only one is present. The second twin is said to have "vanished."

 

Dr. Randy Fink, an OB/GYN in private practice in Miami, Fla., says twin pregnancies are invariably at a higher risk than singleton pregnancies. "There may be competition for valuable intrauterine space or maternal resources, and one twin may just be 'stronger' than the other," says Dr. Fink. "Beyond the stress of the intrauterine environment in early pregnancy, pregnancies are most commonly lost due to chromosomal problems. Sometimes, sperm and egg do not come together correctly and a pregnancy does not develop normally."

This is the most common reason for a miscarriage or vanished twins. Dr. Fink says tha as sad and cruel as it is (especially to couples who have been trying for a long time), early pregnancy loss is nature's way of caring for a pregnancy that would not last until its due date.

Want to see more?

• Two Babies, One Sac, More Risks: The Triumphs of Monoamniotic Twins
• Keep Those Babies in There: Avoiding Premature Delivery With Twins
• The Home Stretch: Surviving the Last Trimester With Twins
• Talk about it!

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