Seeking Expert Opinions

kproude

I have a bit of a conundrum and am wondering if anyone else may have had a similar situation or might have any wisdom to share....so I delivered di/di boys at 36 wks because my baby B had stopped growing.  Never diagnosed with IUGR or low fluid levels only that he was much smaller than baby A and the doctors thought he would be better off on the outside than in.  Anyway, in the operating room the paediatrician asked if they were identical since they looked an awful lot alike.  We said probably not since they were di/di. When the placental pathology came back we were told they were mo/di, sharing a placenta and therefore identical.  At the time we never questioned it because although there was a 1.5lbs since difference they really did look alike.  Fast forward 8 months and the size difference just gets larger (5 lbs) and they look nothing alike!  No one thinks they look alike and looks at us like we are crazy when we say the are "supposed" to be identical. 

 Has anyone else ever experienced this?  Not sure how I could have had so many ultrasounds and no one ever picked up that maybe there was only one placenta.  On the other hand how could the pathology report be wrong.  The only thing I can think of is that the placentas fused and the tech doing the pathology must have thought there was only one....does this even make sense? 

Not sure how to post a photo...but trust when I say they really do not look alike apart from having the same eye and hair colour.

Anyone have any possible answers?  

 

  

 

 

 

 

2moms2b

My boys were di di and at delivery the placenta presented as one. It was due to the fact it fused during my pregnancy. My doctor explained that it is common for the placenta to fuse and at delivery it would be almost impossible to tell it was two. My boys look nothing alike at all and at 5 months have a 4lbs difference.

The only way to know for sure is a DNA test unless they have different blood types. We were going to test as they looked a lot alike at birth but then found out they have different blood types.

Mrs. Alice

When did you have your first u/s? Was it two big black holes or one with a thin membrane? There's a chance it fused and the pathologists report was not accurate. As far as the size difference, that is possible with identical too. You're only way of knowing for sure is s DNA test which cost about 100 through a private lab.

kproude

I had my first ultrasound at 7 wks and again at 12wk for my NT scan.  Both ultrasounds showed two distinct sacs.  Every ultrasound thereafter they always pointed out the dividing membrane.  I would think if the placentas had fused the pathologist would be trained to identify that...but i'm pretty sure this is what must have happened.  It would just be nice to have a solid answer when people ask.  We might have to bite the bullet and do the DNA testing just for piece of mind.  

Shel79

We had confusion also.  My OB told me they were di/di, and then the MFM that I started visiting at 22 weeks said they were definitely mono/di.  When they were born, it looked like one placenta so they sent it off to pathology and the lab said it was two placentas.  So we sent away for the cheek swabs and did the DNA test, and it came back that they are identical!  So... Either my OB and the lab were wrong and the MFM was right, or the MFM was wrong and I ended up with di/di identicals.  I suppose either could happen!