two sacks, one placenta, not identical, what do you think happened?

Marie-therese - posted on 10/13/2012

Puzzled as to why the placenta was not properly checked after delivery. My twins - boy and girl so obviously not identical- were born 35 years ago . However even although it is a long time ago I was told that yes the placenta can and often does fuse together due to the obvious lack of space. So in the case of same sex twins the placenta has to be checked over to ensure if this has happend or not...........................

Sara - posted on 10/01/2012

if their eyes and hair are not the same color they are not identical. Identical twins have the same DNA, that's what lab tests look for. DNA determines eye color and hair color. If it's not the same they can't be identical.

Michelle - posted on 09/23/2012

I think the only way to know for sure if your twins are identical are to have a dna test as some Identical twins split early and two sacs can form.

Dehra - posted on 09/17/2012

My girls wher in one sac separated by a thin membrane.... BUT they had 2 placenta first I was told they wher identical but then I was told they wasn't so.....I don't even think the doctors know any more...sorry I don't have an answer....girl I'm just as confused as you are....people come up to us when we are out and they are like" Aww identical twins"....my husband and I just go with it....LOL....we don't have a clue if they are or aren't.

Lily - posted on 09/15/2012

I have 6 year old twins and shortly after they were born I learned of the possibility of a third type of twin. Doctors discussed fraternal twins, 2 eggs are released & then fertilized. Then identical twins, one egg released & fertilized, then it splits. But they went on to discuss a 3rd type of suspected twin. They thought that this was also possible, one egg, it splits 1st, then it's fertilized. I had similar circumstances to you, my babies were in separate sacks but only one placenta. They look alike but there are still very obvious differences. Just thought I'd share. Only way to know for sure is through DNA testing.

Clare - posted on 09/12/2012

Hey :)

13 years ago gave Birth to my (unidentical) Twins with a fused Placenta, one side of the Placenta was a deep Red colour with a Thick Umbilical cord, which belonged to my Son, the other smaller side of the Placenta was very pale with a much smaller Umbilical cord which belonged to my Daughter, who was much smaller, both were born Healthy at 38 weeks of Pregnancy :) Both were Delivered Vaginally, my Daughter secondly in the Breech position.One thing I forgot to mention is how, I am of Mixed Race, (half Jamaican) and their Father is White skinned. My Son has my Skin tone and was born with Thick Black Hair, Whereas my Daughter is White Skinned and was born Bold not a hair on her head :) I think this is most unusual, but I am Blessed to have them, it goes to show, there must be many variations when it comes to the miracle of having Twins ....

Darcy - posted on 04/20/2012

1/3 of identical twins split in the first 3 days before the placenta has formed, so they look the same as fraternals on ultrasounds. So it's entirely possible to have identical twins even if they have separate everything. If they have the same eye and hair color and other people (besides mom and dad) can't tell them apart, they're almost certainly identical. 99% of identical twins have separate sacs, where 2/3 share a placenta and 1/3 have separate placentas. Only 1% of identical twins share a sac. That's called monoamniotic and it's a very high risk pregnancy. My identical twins were that 1%.

Laura - posted on 11/21/2011

The placentas can fuse together and look like one placenta, if it happens it happens quite early on. And ID twin can have separate sacs. My boys are definitly ID, but for me they are totally different and I find it difficult to believe that they are ID. At birth they everyone said it wasn't possible that they were ID - one had a lot of dark brown hair, the other wispy and much lighter. Their head shapes were very different because of how they were positioned and there was a weight difference. the get more alike to look at as they get older. We tested to be sure and they are ID.

Jay - posted on 11/18/2011

I am a fraternal twin and me and my sister shared a placenta, my mother was not scanned till around 6 months when she was told that we had seperate sacs but we shared a placenta.They didn't know if we only had one or if they had fused between us, and because my sister has never known her blood type we still don't have any clarity. The doctor at the birth announced we were identical at birth but my mother had to correct him to let him know that we were non identical and that we just shared a placenta.
If they did earlier scans we would know if we just had one to start (very rare) or if ours fused because they were close. I am brown haired with a larger bone structure and she is blonde and petit.

Ashtin - posted on 07/14/2011

hey kerry!
i am a mother to twin boys (almost 4 years old now) and SERIOUSLY the same thing as your girls, one placenta, two sacs, as newborns til about a year old they looks SO SIMILAR but not identical, and NOW! 4 years later, they are NIGHT & DAY, one likes carbs, one likes meat, their hair grows opposite ways as well (thats what cracked me up about your post) i asked my DR about their type of twin, but didnt get a great answer.. two years after the twins, we welcomes our 3rd son, and i was told id never have twins again, but everyone was shocked we had twins naturally & first... we have twins on BOTH sides of the family but way back, so it was a surprise for sure. id love to talk with you more, i love friend'ing other families with twins, such a blessing....

Kim - posted on 03/07/2011

I also have mono/di twins that do not look exactly alike, they are not mirror images. There is a 2lb difference.. one is an inch shorter and has a slightly smaller frame. But, they have the same physical characteristics... and people can clearly tell they are identical. But you may have had a fused placenta. DNA test would be the only way to confirm.

Marsha - posted on 03/06/2011

Identical

Jamie - posted on 07/05/2010

I have identical twin boys that shared a placenta and the small seperating membrane. Their father and I dont feel like they look alike at all, there is 2lb weight difference now. However, at birth they were completly identical, but one has a small birthmark on his neck! I would really talk to my dr's to find out.

Pip - posted on 07/04/2010

That's what happened to me.... There's just no way my boys are identical, look alike yes, they are brothers... Doctors have now said that the placentas must have implanted so close together in the uterus that they fused, becoming one.

Gina - posted on 07/01/2010

I had a five week scan which clearly showed two seperate sacks. at my 12 week scan and on, I have two sacks one placenta, the placenta had fused. the scan lady said to me if i hadnt had that first scan she wouldnt of been able to tell if they were identical or not till birth. My girls where born same weight and length but were clearly not identical. so if I hadnt had that scan I would of been in the same position as you, so yes it is possible to have one placenta and two sacks.

Audrey - posted on 07/01/2010

I have twin boys born the same way, one placenta and two separate sacks. I really thought they were going to be identical but they look nothing a like but one can tell that they are brothers its just that one looks like his father and the other looks like me. I was told that they were going to be identical because of the one placenta, i do not know what happened.

Irene - posted on 11/10/2009

i had the same thing with my twin girls and was expecting identicals but apparently if the placentas are very close together they can fuse into one.

Madeline - posted on 11/10/2009

must feel strange not to really know for sure. i have fraternal as they come twin boys, they dont even look like brothers. i had 2 placentas early on but then fused to 1 as the pregnancy went on. yet i was told that even with 2 placentas they can still be identical ..it all depends on how late the embryo splits. if the embryo spilts very early then you will have identical twins in 2 sacs with 2 placentas. when the embryo splits into 2 very late..sometimes only a matter of hrs before becoming conjoined..then they will share a sac and and a placenta. so unless u get the dna test you may never really know...identical twins that had separate sacs and placenta will be more different from one another than those who shared a sac etc. as they developed as 1 for longer. hope this makes sense. its what i got told by my doc in australia

Samantha - posted on 11/10/2009

Its still highly likely they are identical twins. My boys had a shared placenta & separate sacs. There was the thin curly membrane separating the 2 sacs, thats how my doc described it to me, & that this is a trait in pregnancy that helps identify identical twins. After they were born we saw that the spirals of their hair was opposite of each other. One of the defining traits of identical twins is certain features are like mirror images. Mine are so different in so many ways but so much alike. Nicolas(A) is slightly taller than the other and wears glasses now, Brian(B) is a pound or so heavier and has a deeper voice. Choices in food are slightly different as well as other things. Its the differences that makes them individuals and not just a photo copy of the other. Embrace their differences to help them have their own sense of individuality. They need that so much so they wont become resentful of their other half, so to speak. I hope this as well as everyone elses advice is helpful. Take care, God bless & good luck! :)

Angelique - posted on 11/09/2009

Monochorionic diamniotic twins. MCDA twins. In enlish.... the most common form of identical twins are mono-chorionic (one placenta), di-amniotic (two maniotic sacs). Remember not all identical twins looks 100% identical and not all fraturnal looks 100% different. With my boys which are frat twins if they turn they head in a Certain position you cant tell who is who, yet if you look at them in the face you can see who is who.



A guy that works with me is one of in identical twin and you wont even think him and his brother are twins.



Hope this helped.

Leslie - posted on 11/09/2009

I have faternal twin boys that the Dr.s told me where identical because there one placenta.I have learned now what happened because my twins don't have any similar traits at all not even hair color. My body produced 2 eggs in one month. So maybe the same happened with you.

Janeane - posted on 11/09/2009

We had TTTS too, so ours are identical as well. Just like yours, however, we can tell them apart easily enough. One has a slightly thinner face, and is still three pounds smaller and 1/2 inch shorter than his twin. They were so different at birth it was hard to believe they were identical, but that have really started to look more and more like each other. :)

Kerry - posted on 11/09/2009

I have twin girls, I was told at my early ultrasound that they were most likely to be identical because there was one placenta and the membrane separating them was very thin. At first they thought that they were in the same sac and were concerned that they were conjoined. Then after a second ultrasound they discovered a membrane and separated the bubs. When they were born no way could you tell them apart except twin 2 was born with a club foot. They have the same eye, hair colour. Strangers can't tell them apart, but I see obvious differences, don't know if it's because I am their mum. One has a rounder face and different shaped head to the other. They are only 4 months old a the moment so it's still hard to tell if they are identical, I guess time will tell has they grow.

Beth - posted on 11/08/2009

My girls shared a placenta but each had their own sac. You can tell they're identical, but they do have differences. Their heads are shaped different also...Abby's is more round, but I think that was from in the womb. Emma's eyes and other facial features seem to be smaller. My girls were both growth restricted, Emma more so, and she was about 1 pound smaller at birth. Their personalities are alike but also very different! Aren't twins a blast!! I love my girls they are so fun!

Jo - posted on 11/08/2009

my twin boys were 2 sacks, 2 placentas. my sonographer told me there is a very small time frame when one egg can split resulting in this with identicals. my boys are 16 months old and noone can tell them apart.

Liesel - posted on 10/23/2009

i had twins one sack one placenta funny thing ones a girl and the other a boy they have the same hair/eyes very very similar in look as they r getting older if u put them in the green or yellow everyone says they r identical. but obviously they r not. i think with twins its still very much a mystery and the docs can never b sure of anything. good luck they r so much fun

Jo - posted on 10/23/2009

We had twin girls and were told all along that they were fraternal however when they were born there was one placenta and two sacs, after pathology was done it was established that it was two placentas that had fused into one, however it still means that they could be identical and my husband and I are ALWAYS getting them mixed up, they are 20 grams apart in weight, 1cm height difference, same colour eyes, hair and blood type so if they are not identical then the resemblance to each other is scary! We can find out with a DNA test but it won't change anything so we won't do it unless we need to!

Amanda - posted on 10/23/2009

my twins turned out to be identical but in delivery the doctor said she didnt think so because the placenta was so big she thought that it was two that had fused together but it wasnt. but apparently that whole fusing isnt that uncommon

Andrea - posted on 10/22/2009

2 sacks never means identical. the egg probobly split after the fact. Twins in no way have to act or look the same. I had one placenta, twins and ones a girl and ones a boy. there is nothing the same except there birthday. as long as they are healthy you got it made. Good Luck

Sheila - posted on 10/22/2009

Mine twins were the same. We found out at 12 weeks we were having twins. Two sacs one placenta. went into labor 51/2 weeks early they weighed 4lbs and looked just alike. Now it changes some days they look alike other days not so much. But their weight, length and blood work is always identical.

Jessica - posted on 10/22/2009

Ok so there are 3 types of 'identical' aka monozygotic twins in utero-

diamniotic/dicorionic ie they each have their own sac & placenta, about 30% of identical twins are di/di (egg split early thus no sharing of anything)

diamniotic/monocorionic ie they have their own sac & share a placenta, about 70% of identical twins are di/mo (egg split later than di/di'sbut not as late as mo/mo's)

Monoamniotic/monocorionic ie they share both the sac & placenta, less than 1% of identicals are mo/mo & the sucess rate of this type of pregnancy is low (due to no membrane seperating the babies from each other & their cords)

Depending on when you had your 1st u/s and where the placenta(s) implanted you may or may not be able to tell by u/s if you have seperate palcentas that fused or a single placenta. My girls were determined to be tri/tri at 8w & again at 12w but by 16w & because they were implanted so close to one another the tech said she woudn't have been able to tell for sure if it weren't for the 2 earlier u/s's.

Idential twins would have be the same sex, have the same hair/eye color & same blood type.

Haylli - posted on 10/20/2009

Many times your placenta can just fuse together, the placents moves inside you along your uterus so for it to bond together is not unusual at all. Congrats by the way.

Destiny - posted on 10/19/2009

I wish I would have paid more attention to the ultrasound. I was always told that my twins were identical and they still look alike, except one has a lazy eye and wears glasses and the other has perfect vision. I always thought that if they were in the same placenta they were identical and if they were in separate placentas they were fraternal.

Cindy - posted on 10/18/2009

If your twins have different color hair and eyes there is no way they are identical. Identical are produced from the same egg, so have the same traits.

Teresa - posted on 10/18/2009

My boys had the same issue. I was told that the placentas fused together and that it was fairly common. There was a tiny membrane separating them that was barely visible on the ultrasound. hope this helps.

Kerry - posted on 10/17/2009

well, when i read the report it said one placenta, membrain between, and i asked a few questions but they couldn't give a 100% answer, one is a red head and one is mouse brown, diffent colour eyes, i will do a test one of these days to find out i think that is the only way, so maybe fused together, thanks so much for replying to me i loved it, i will look back at the reports and see what i have missed,,, thanks heaps

Lindsey - posted on 09/19/2009

At one point there was two placentas but they must have been so close together that the placentas can acually merge together to form one big one. I know this for sure that it is true. Your Doctor didn't know why?

Carina - posted on 09/19/2009

the only way to know for sure if twins are fraternal is if they are boy n girl x

Carina - posted on 09/19/2009

this is strange bcos wen i had my 1st scan they said there was 2 seperate placentas but after i had them my notes said one. they looked so different wen they were born but are lookin more and more alike as they get older. hmmmmm.....i wonder...

Tracy - posted on 09/17/2009

well i had boy girl ferteral twins. there sack had grown together. on all the ultrasounds it always said that they had 1 large placenta. its jsut a cause that it grows together.

Gail - posted on 09/17/2009

I have identical twins who shared a placenta and were separated by a thin membrane. We know for sure because they suffered from TTTS. When they were born I would never have believed they were identical if I didn't know for sure. The shape of their heads were so different from each other because of their positions in the womb. Also one has a rounder face which is very common with identical twins. And the difference in the shape of their heads also makes their eyes slightly different from each other as well (although they are the same color) I find them very easy to tell apart. The neat thing is that they have the same voice, same noses, same highlights in their hair, are only a 1/2 pound difference in weight and walk the same. Hope this helps!

Ashley - posted on 09/16/2009

mine was the same thing the first sono lady said they was identical then the next said she could see a line between the placentas when they were born they had one placenta and two sacs they look quite a bit alike but i can tell them apart the nurses keep saying they were fraternal but the dr told me he wasnt for sure i would have to have dna testing Iam not for sure if they are identical or not I hate not knowing for sure I tell everyone they are identical b/c thats what everyone assumes but and i dont want to explain that i dont know

Summer - posted on 09/15/2009

I don't have an answer for you, but my fraternal twins were in the same placenta in two separate sacks that had grown together. My doctor said that was very strange, and when I saw her at my post visit she explained that the lab confirmed that they were fraternal.

Jennifer - posted on 09/15/2009

Identical twins don't always look identical. I was actually just watching a show about this on the Discovery channel, as I have identical twin boys who look very different. A lot of it has to do with what happens in the womb. You can always request a copy of the pathology report from your doctor to see what they found when they examined the placenta (just one, or two fused, or inconclusive). I had one placenta, and one sac with a membrane separating the boys.....and though they look very similar, there are marked differences between them. There are also a couple of different places that offer DNA testing for right around $180...they can be found on line and done at home and then sent in to their lab for analysis. That's a sure way to find out for sure if your girls are identical or fraternal. Either way, you are blessed with two beautiful girls! Enjoy them as much as you can before they turn into snotty tweens! lol

Good luck!

Gina - posted on 07/01/2010

I had a five week scan which clearly showed two seperate sacks. at my 12 week scan and on, I have two sacks one placenta, the placenta had fused. the scan lady said to me if i hadnt had that first scan she wouldnt of been able to tell if they were identical or not till birth. My girls where born same weight and length but were clearly not identical. so if I hadnt had that scan I would of been in the same position as you, so yes it is possible to have one placenta and two sacks.

Audrey - posted on 07/01/2010

I have twin boys born the same way, one placenta and two separate sacks. I really thought they were going to be identical but they look nothing a like but one can tell that they are brothers its just that one looks like his father and the other looks like me. I was told that they were going to be identical because of the one placenta, i do not know what happened.

Liesel - posted on 10/23/2009

i had twins one sack one placenta funny thing ones a girl and the other a boy they have the same hair/eyes very very similar in look as they r getting older if u put them in the green or yellow everyone says they r identical. but obviously they r not. i think with twins its still very much a mystery and the docs can never b sure of anything. good luck they r so much fun