Obstetrics General Obstertrics

Wombtwin Survivor Wikipedia

unreferenced

A wombtwin survivor is the sole survivor of a twin or multiple pregnancy. For every twin pregnancy resulting in the live birth of a pair of twins, there are about ten twin pregnancies that result in the birth of only one baby. The number of wombtwin survivors varies throughout the world because the fraternal twin rate varies greatly, being very high in Nigeria and very low in China and Japan. The wombtwin may be lost at any stage in development, from just a few days to several months. If the twin dies in the first two months there is little or no medical evidence obtainable, except perhaps some signs on the placenta.

Most wombtwin survivors are unaffected by the death of their twin, but some, in particular survivors of an identical twin pregnancy, may suffer medical complications, such as congenital disorders, cerebral palsy and neural tube defects. The body of the twin may be absorbed into the developing, embryonic body of the survivor, forming a fetus in fetu, or teratoma. Being a blood chimera has also been related to being a wombtwin survivor. It is possible that some mental health problems are related to being a wombtwin survivor. One such is schizophrenia, which has been connected to bleeding in early pregnancy, which is a sign of the loss of a twin in the womb. No definitive research exists to substantiate this link as yet.

Category:Twins
Category:Obstetrics

Last Modified:   2005-12-23