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The birth of a child is always synonymous with a lot of joy for parents and for the whole family, and when the news is that the woman is pregnant with twins, there is an initial surprise, but the joy tends to be even greater. All the expectation of the children’s arrival comes together with a financial mental preparation and the anxiety of being witnessed something so rare and so beautiful at the same time.
Although these good feelings are normal in these circumstances, there are cases where all this joy becomes anguish and worry , which is what happens when there is the death of one of the twins in the womb, for example.
Death is always a reason for trauma for any family, which is normal. But the death of a child , even if it is the death of one of the twins in the womb, is always charged with a different sadness, which can shake the parents a lot, which makes everything very worrying, especially for the mother’s health.
Of course, grief exists, but there is also one more child alive within the woman , which usually arouses mixed feelings such as worry and hope. To better understand the reasons and consequences of this type of phenomenon, we have separated some topics that we consider essential for the understanding of the subject.
What Happens When One of the Twins Dies in the Womb?
In cases like this, it is necessary to carry the pregnancy through to the end and have the delivery normally. This is because the other fetus is likely to be weakened by the death of his brother and cannot run any kind of risk until birth. It is clear that several precautions also need to be taken, both in physical and psychological issues, since it is a major trauma for the mother.
Despite sounding strange and even shocking many people, the standard procedure to be followed is to keep the dead baby in the belly until the end of the pregnancy. Often, even dead, the baby continues to develop and even release hormones, it is clear that this depends on the causes of the baby’s death and also on the period of pregnancy in which it occurred.
Many believe that the other baby is at risk and that it is better to get it out of the mother, but the truth is that forcing a preterm birth can be much more harmful to the baby. The important thing at this point is to remain calm and understand the situation so that it can be taken to the end and so that neither the mother nor the other baby suffers any kind of damage to health.
Is it Normal for One of the Twins to Die in the Womb?
A twin pregnancy usually has more risks than an ordinary pregnancy and therefore there is more than one reason for the death of one of the twins in the womb. In the first trimester of pregnancy , for example, it may happen that a twin pregnancy is detected, but only one of them develops completely in the mother’s womb. This happens with about 20% of twin pregnancies, which can be considered a high number.
Therefore, we cannot say that it is completely normal for one of the twins to die in the mother’s uterus, but it happens more often than many imagine , since it is a pregnancy with many risks.
What are the Brother’s Risks?
When one of the twins dies in the womb, there is also a risk that the surviving sibling will be born with sequelae. British studies carried out between 1993 and 1995 found that the chances of a child being born with mental problems are 20% higher than normal when it comes to a surviving twin. The number gets even greater when the case is with identical twins.
One of the main theories of why this happens is that the death of the other fetus ends up affecting the blood circulation in the surviving brother, making him more likely to have cerebral palsy. In addition, this theory also explains why the chances are greater in twins who are identical, since they share the mother’s purse in this case.
Despite this, there are also many cases in which the child is born without any type of health problem, especially when the death of the other baby happened at the very beginning of pregnancy. Therefore, there is no reason to panic about the health of your surviving child, even though it is necessary to take special care with his pregnancy.
How to Overcome the Death of One of the Twins
With all these aspects about the health of the mother and the health of the other baby, little is said about how we deal with the death of a child. The state of mourning is common in these cases, even with the concern for the others involved to be in good health.
It is also common for the mother to have feelings like deep sadness and guilt , with thoughts that she could have done something to prevent this from happening. It is not something that happens overnight, but the acceptance of what happened also comes with time.
Tell the Other Twin or Not?
Many mothers wonder whether or not they should talk to their child about the death of the other baby while in the womb. This is a delicate issue, but the most recommendable is that she tell you when she feels that she is ready and that the child is also ready to hear about it.
This is something that should be talked about among family members, but it is certain that it is not healthy to keep it a child’s secret forever, just that the right time is found for this conversation to take place.
The Psychological Health of the Mother
It is also very common for mothers and fathers to seek professional help when the death of one of the twins in the womb occurs, as there are so many conflicting feelings. It is healthy and recommended that the mother seek help to maintain emotional balance, for her own psychological health and not to harm the other baby that is still alive inside her.
The length of time that the mother’s treatment with a psychologist will vary according to her emotional state, with the professional’s assessment and with the mother’s will as well.
Despite the grief and trauma of death, parents cannot be shaken when one of the twins dies in the mother’s womb. Mainly because there is still another baby inside her that is alive and probably healthy.
The time of childbirth
What needs to be done at this point is to take the necessary precautions so that the delivery can be the least traumatic possible for the woman, in addition to everyone making sure that the parents are in good psychological condition, especially the mother, since the trauma is very higher for women in these cases.
See Also: Risk Pregnancy – Which Cases Are Considered?
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
