Worried about Vanishing Twin Syndrome

[Ella31]

Hi all had my first scan last week and was delighted to discover I'm pregnant with twins. After two losses this is amazing. One twin measured 7 weeks 1 day and the other 7 weeks 2 days.

I can't stop worrying that that I'll lose one of them. I've another scan at 10 weeks and I'm convinced it will be bad news.

Have you suffered from anxiety before? Please let your midwife team now.

You might want to look up Thought Blocking/alternative thinking techniques. Also EFT/tapping, meditation.

You can't control the outcome. Your body wants to look after these twins. The best thing you can do is breathe, relax and take care of yourself.

No, but I've had two miscarriages recently so it's hard not to worry.

I’m so sorry for your losses. I understand the anxiety. Can you speak to your midwife? Distract yourself? Try calming techniques? Mindfulness? Gentle exercise etc.

Yeah i mentioned it at the scan and they were nice but very professional, I got the whole - twin losses common in early pregnancy spiel. I don't think they were being unkind, just covering themselves I'd say.

I understand that - I'm nearly 6w after 2 MC from 2 pregnancies. All I know is that it's just not sustainable for me to worry at the level that I could worry, for the rest of the pregnancy. I'll need that energy for the actual baby! I won't change the outcome by fretting, but I could make myself (and my partner) miserable by doing so. Much better if I relax, reduce the cortisol in my body and enjoy the calm before the storm.

Is it because one measured smaller that you started to worry? Because I am definitely not an expert but I understand there to be a margin of error in foetal measurement - so I would say
1 - they might just be different sizes and that not indicate a problem but also
2- they might not even be different sizes, just a slight measurement error (one measured slightly bigger than it actually is, one slightly smaller, and suddenly they look a day apart)

Early pregnancy is worrying for anyone, and especially so given your history (and I'm so sorry for your previous losses) but I wouldn't worry on the basis of this alone ❤️

Worth speaking to your assigned midwife rather than just the person who did the scan.

Sorry to hear about your losses. When I discovered I was having twins, one measured 10+4 and one 10+5 so a day or two difference probably doesn’t mean much. One twin was bigger than the other at birth which might have explained the difference. They are absolutely fine though, just different sizes!