Complications in Twin Pregnancy

At 12 weeks we found out that we were expecting twins, it was the most exciting and the happiest thing I ever heard. It was truly a dream come true. I had always expected that pregnancy was going to be hard but I had no idea what was lying before me in the next 24 weeks.

To begin with, when we found out we were expecting we had to do several tests to ensure that we would have a healthy baby. I had always been aware that I had Thalessemia Beta, which was a mild form of anemia, but my husband had never been tested for it. When his tests came back his iron count was low and they suspected that he may also have a mild form of anemia because it is quite common among Asian. We were sent to a genetic counsellor to find out the possibilities and we learned that if we both had Thalessemia there was a 25% chance that our baby was going to be anemic, which means that he/she would require blood transfusions and likely would not live past 8 years old. The news was devastating and we went through further genetic testing. Results took three weeks and they were the longest three weeks ever but we thankfully learned that he did not have it and we were out of the red zone.

At 15 weeks we went in for another ultrasound just to check on how they were doing and we found that twin B had not grown. We were sent to a specialist (Maternal Fetal Medicine) at BC Womens hospital and they were determined to find out the reason for twin B's slow growth. They suspected several possibilities and one was down syndrome and another was TTTS (twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome). We were faced with decisions of what tests we wanted to put out baby thorugh. With each test we ran the risk of miscarriage and so we opted for an uninvasive test, the triple screen. The triple screen is a urine test and blood test that tests for down syndrome but the problem with the test is that there is a possible of a false positive or negative. I was 22 weeks when I decided to go for the test and i was upset because I realized that I may have to decide if i wanted to terminate the pregnancy if the tests did come back positive (but at the same time if it was positive there was a chance it was a false positive). I was already halfway through the pregnancy and I didn't want it to end now. Luckily the tests came back negative but we were left with an unsolved question.

The doctors suggested that we try aminosis (where they stick a needle through the belly to extract some dna material from the baby) which will let them check if the baby had any birth defects. With each aminosis there was a 1% chance of miscarriage and 1% seemed too much already and with twins you would have to do it twice. At this point I was 24 weeks and I opted to not go through with aminosis. I was more than determined to get through this pregnancy with close monitoring. But I was told that if growth did stop I may lose one or both babies. I was devasted to learn that i may have to choose to have two, none, or even have to choose the life of one baby over the other.

At 24 weeks I was put on bedrest, no walking or standing for more than 3 hours a day. I was confined to the bed or the couch and was only allowed to take the stairs once a day. I was on house arrest and it was tough because it was a beautiful summer but I was going to do anything it took to have these babies. I received ultrasounds at the hospital every week to monitor their growth and I had homecare nurses that came to our house every other day to monitor our little ones. On the days the nurses did not come they were sure to call to check up on me. The nurses were the best support system, they always offered to pick up somethings for me and they were alway optimistic. I remained on bedrest and homecare throughout my experience.

At 25 weeks, twin B's growth stopped and doctors were worried that they would have to intervene. I was given the option of steriod shot to help the babies lung to develop faster incase they had to intervene. I received two shots of steriods that left me restless. I didn't sleep after receiving them, I was wired. I was given the option of entering an experimental program that would allow me to receive several steriod shots but if you were in the placebo or control group was not informed and the effects of additional shots were unknown. I waited till the next ultrasound to see if twin B had started to grow again and sure enough she did and I decided not to play with steriods with my babies. I changed my diet and I researched on what I could do if I had a small baby and most studies said to consume more protein. My appetite was not big so we decided to drink high protein meal replacement supplements three times a day. Our next ultrasound, twin B grew so we continued on with the shakes. They didn't taste very good but I was going to do anything.

As the weeks passed the babies continued to grow, with twin B still lagging behind. But as they happily grew in my belly, my comfort and well-being was starting to take its toll. As babies went through growth spurts it felt like I was being ripped from the inside out. Stretch marks suddenly appeared from nowhere and they were so deep they felt like large scars. I thought I was going to blow up. But I made it to 30 weeks and things got even more uncomfortable.

At 30 weeks I developed carpal tunnel syndrome because of all the weight I was putting on my wrists to get up each time but I was at 30 weeks so I didn't care. At this point the doctors said that at 30 weeks we have a 70 percent of the babies surviving. Finally the odds seem to fall on our side and I was discharge from the specialists and back to my regular ob, it was great feeling to be normal risk.

At about 32 weeks I developed PUPPs, a very itchy condition from the excess hormones in my body. It gave me rashes everywhere and I was so itchy that the doctor prescribed steriod creams, that worked like a miracle. As the belly got bigger the sleep started to deteriorate, there was no more sleeping at night, just naps here and there. The discomfort I was experience was excruciating. I was on the verge of breaking down from exhaustion when my ob decided to schedule me for a c-section.

I delivered my babies through c-section when I was 36 weeks and 1 day. i couldn't believe it but by 1:32 pm I had two healthy babies. Twin A was 5 pounds 14 oz and Twin B was 3 pounds 12. It was the greatest relief ever, they arrived and I didn't even care if they were defective or not.

Our placenta was taken to the lab for studies and we found that twin B was small because there was an unfair share of the placenta. Twin a was a little piggy and had 70% of the placenta, while B only had 30%. The mystery was solved and we had our little identical twin girls, Cory and Ella.

We thank god for them every day.