December 7th is World TTTS Awareness Day

Awareness Saves Lives!

TTTS is a disease of the placenta affecting identical twins who share a placenta. While this may not directly impact you, perhaps you know someone who is pregnant with ID twins? If you do, please share this information! Awareness saves lives.

Here is a little more information on TTTS:

1 in 1400 may not seem like a lot, until you consider there are four MILLION births in the US each year. Since we don’t know why the egg splits, ANY WOMAN can have identical twins. Be informed.

Not only can any woman have an identical twin pregnancy, of those who are pregnant, 20% will have some form of TTTS. More babies die each year from TTTS than SIDS, and yet, there is little to no awareness or even obvious action in the medical community. It has been over 20 years since any new developments have come about to make a difference. Why is this?

I certainly was not expecting to have identical twins. And I was even less prepared to be told at 20 weeks that they were dying.

My OBs did not ask me at any point before the diagnosis at 20 weeks if I had any of these TTTS symptoms. You can read my girls’ story at No Holding Back.

There ARE symptoms. I had ALL of them.

The following information is copied directly from the American Pregnancy Association.

Does the mother have any signs of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome?

A mother whose twins have TTTS may experience:

Sensation of rapid growth of the womb
A uterus that measures large for dates
Abdominal pain, tightness, or contractions
Sudden increase in body weight
Swelling in the hands and legs in early pregnancy

Is there anything else that I need to be aware of if I have been diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome?

The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation recommends thatweekly ultrasounds be performed after 16 weeks through the end ofthe pregnancy to monitor TTTS. They recommend that this be done evenif the warning signs of TTTS have decreased.

The TTTS Foundation can be contacted at http://www.tttsfoundation.org/or at 1-800-815-9211.

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katbiggie

Freelance writer at Kat Biggie Press

Alexa B, who blogs as "Kat Biggie" is a wife, mother, and writer. She has three children and one in heaven. She recently self published a book entitled "Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother" which is available on Amazon. She blogs about life after the loss of one of her twin daughters to TTTS, motherhood, all things parenting, advocacy, grief support and social good.