Harmony screening test after vanishing twin

Re: Harmony screening test after vanishing twin

• mamajenna_cnm member

  June 2015

  @Sanazr128 I had a vanishing twin at 7w5d, it was hard though bc we had seen heartbeat and everything before hand
  
  It is true about testing, it would show a false positive, and sometimes the sex is not accurate either bc it can pick up DNA cells from the vanished twin. I feel you...every day I worry about my remaining baby, wondering if it's ok in there. A good thought is, usually the remaining baby does really well bc they were the dominant one to begin with. Usually they are the ones that were receiving more of the blood and nutrients than the other, which is why the other could've vanished. I keep telling myself that this one is strong, which is why it survived! You could request a 12 week sono from your provider...sometimes they will make exceptions for this, just so you can see the little one moving and do an overall anatomy scan (even though it will still be really small). Another option is an amniocentesis, but this is a riskier test and is an invasive test. If you really need a peace of mind, an amniocentesis is the ONLY diagnostic testing there is. Hang in there! In a few more weeks, you'll be feeling your little one moving! I'm literally counting down the days to my 2nd tri, where I can feel like I'm outta the red zone!!

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• Sanazr128 member

  June 2015

  Thank you for your response and sorry for your loss. I heard about amnio but I really want to try and avoid it as it might hurt the remaining baby. The 12 wk us is a goid idea! I know i can't wait for the 2nd trimester...

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• andreachristine81 member

  June 2015 edited June 2015

  I experienced vanishing twin as well... I do worry about the baby who's still wiggling (I can't feel it, but saw it move on the ultrasound!!) around in there. It is sad, but also common in early pregnancy. When I found out that I was pregnant I was just hoping for one healthy baby and two was a complete shock! There is still a slight chance that baby b was hiding on my last screen (8 weeks) because I haven't experienced any spotting or bleeding at all... I have never heard of the harmony screen... What is that??

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• LisaLelik member

  June 2015

  What is a harmony test? I also experienced a vanishing twin. It measured smaller than the other one at my 7 week scan but we could hear the heartbeat. Then at my 8 week scan it was clear that it had stopped developing and was busy disappearing : (. I haven't had any scans subsequently and keep worrying that the same has happened to the remaining baby. Can't wait for my 12 wk scan this Thursday. I just need to know either way. I'm sorry for all the ladies who experienced this. It's not easy to deal with and the health of the remaining baby is a constant worry Xx

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• willashbaby member

  June 2015

  Some one I know from another forum did this and had positive results for trisonomy 13 from the other twin. It took agonizing weeks to wait for an amino to confirm that the remaining twin was healthy. Be prepared that your results may be false positives. The other twin vanished for a reason, usually an unpleasant genetic one.

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• andreachristine81 member

  June 2015

  Oh god. I am afraid to get it now.

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• willashbaby member

  June 2015

  @andreachristine81 I did not intend to scare you, I wanted to let you know that most likely if there is an abnormal result it will have been from the twin who didn't make it, not likely your living baby.

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• Mommyduclos member

  June 2015

  I wouldn't do it- though I don't do those genetic tests anyways- but they are not diagnostic, only screening which means you have a chance of a false positive anyways, then add a vanishing twin which drastically increases your chance of a false positive because they'll likely find what was wrong with the vanished baby which will just cause you tons of unnecessary stress. I figure if there's something I need to know it will most likely show itself in the anatomy scan. You can probably still do the NT Scan, which doesn't test for as much as harmony but may give you some peace of mind.

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• nanamp member

  June 2015

  You should be able to do the maternit21 test. They do that for women with multiples because they are able to distinguish between the different DNA lines.

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• Sanazr128 member

  June 2015

  @andreachristine81 and @LisaLelik this test is an early screening test around 12 wks that tests for several birth defects including DS and it can tell you the sex of the baby. It is usually covered for women above 35, but I'm 33 close enough to be worried but the insurance doesn't pay for it and I was going to pay for it out of pocket. Knowing the sex is not so important to me as is detecting any serious birth defects, we don't have any history in the family, but I'm just a risk analyst and naturally a "worrier". 

  
  

  @willashbaby, @Mommyduclos, and @nanamp, thank you for your tips, I have a list of questions to ask the doc at my 12wk appt. Only two more weeks, although they said they wouldn't do another US scan during that appt, which sucks because I don't get to see the baby! 
  

  
  

   

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