Fused placenta - info please

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Hi all,

I have come to the conclusion that my twins have a fused placenta. (We were told originally they were DC/DA - and that diagnosis hasn't changed, - but at our most recent scan we were told there was just 1 placenta. Nothing was explained to us, so we have had to conclude (through google searches!) that the 2 original placentas have now fused.)

I'm now wondering if and how this changes anything. I have read that birthing twins with 1 placenta is considered higher risk, but not sure if this applies to a single placenta only, or if it also applies to a fused placenta.

Anyone had a fused placenta and can shed any light on this?

(apologies that I am posting this on here, but we haven't had much success so far with getting straight answers from our hospital!)

I'm in almost the same position. Had scan at 13 weeks and was told they could only see 1 placenta but the thickness of the membrane separating the twins suggests fraternal twins. Had to go back again the following week for another look and a different sonographer said they are definately fraternal due to some shaping of the placenta, which suggested that they have overlapped.
However, when we went for the anomoly scan at 20 weeks (a different sonographer) we were told that they could still be identical!!!!!

I don't think mine are though as the evidence would suggest otherwise. My mum had twins, so there is the 'running in families issue' (identical twins are a nature/fluke thing that can happen to anyone) and also you are more likely to get twins the older you are; i'm 35.

We are not finding out their sex, so until they are born there is no way of knowing.

With my first set of twins i was told from the beginning they were non-identical..2 placentas. When they were born i was told my boys were identical as there was 1 placenta, very thin membranes between their sacs and TTS as they was a difference in weight and skin tone.

I was not convinced as one was blonde and fair skinned and my other DS was very dark with olive skin. I had tests done on the placenta and it turned out they were non-identical!

I never had any problems with the placenta fusing together, but of course they didn't know! I had a c-section and was at risk off heavy bleeding anyway due to previous births so i was on stand-by for a hysterectomy.

Hope you find the answers!!

Mine were fused. We knew from 17 weeks that it was b/g twins and so the 'single' placenta was actually 2 fused ones.

When it was delivered it was enormous and I lost 1.5 litres of blood (am slightly embarrassed that I originally wanted to go for a natural 3rd stage - probably would have died!) .

Sassy, I think if the lambda shaping of the placenta can be identified then it is defo 2 fused placentas (which I presume is the shaping that you mention).