麻豆果冻传媒

Rare, High-Risk, Monoamniotic Twins Give Family Best Holiday Gift Ever, Thanks to Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford

For Release:聽December 12, 2012

PALO ALTO, Calif. 鈥聽Allison and Kevin Carlson will soon be taking home two great Christmas gifts from Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford -- a set of rare monoamniotic twins named Kate and Annie, delivered on November 7 at just 30 weeks gestation.

Sharing the same amniotic sac and occurring in less than 1 percent of all U.S. twin pregnancies, monoamniotic twins carry serious risks -- including cord entanglement, which can cut off the blood flow from the placenta to the fetus. With Kate and Annie, the girls鈥 cords created a perfect but alarming knot and their heart rate was dropping -- leading to an emergency cesarean delivery at Packard Children鈥檚.

鈥淗aving a set of monoamniotic twins can be dangerous and unpredictable,鈥 said聽Susan Crowe, MD, who led the delivery team and noted that around 20 percent of these twins die from complications due to sharing the same sac. 鈥淲ith no membrane dividing them, the obstetrician has to balance the risk of prematurity with the risk of a cord event,鈥 Crowe said. 鈥淏ut, thanks to the excellent care our NICU gives our high-risk cases and preemies, we expect very good outcomes if we have to deliver them early.鈥

As first-time parents, Allison and Kevin thought they were only having one baby, but were thrilled to learn at week 17 that Allison was pregnant with twins. While their excitement quickly turned to a bit of fear when they learned about the dangers involved with monoamniotic twins, they were comforted knowing that the聽Center for Fetal and Pregnancy聽Health at Packard Children鈥檚聽specializes in these and other types of high-risk pregnancies.

Jane Chueh, MD, director of prenatal diagnosis and therapy, and the obstetrical team guided Allison from the day she arrived at Packard Children鈥檚 in October through the long weeks leading up to the girls鈥 emergency delivery -- making sure that she got the rest and care needed to assist the day-to-day growth of the twins, and delay the need for delivery as long as possible.聽

Though the high-risk team at Packard Children鈥檚 was hoping to get Kate and Annie to at least a November 30 due date to minimize the risk of lung disease and other complications associated with prematurity, the fateful November 7 day came when doctors determined that the twins鈥 rapidly decreasing heart rate required they enter the world immediately -- about 10 weeks before the babies would hit a full 40-week term.聽 Said Chueh:聽 鈥淥ur doctors, nurses and neonatologists are able to deliver extraordinary care at a moment鈥檚 notice for cases like this.鈥 On one of the scariest days a new mom could ever imagine, 鈥淥ne of the nurses held my hand and spoke to me in a soothing voice as I was getting my anesthesia,鈥 Allison said. 鈥淪he calmly walked me through the entire procedure.鈥

Neonatologist William Rhine, MD, was among those monitoring the preemies once they were successfully delivered and arrived in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where the babies -- weighing in at just 3 pounds for Kate and 3 pounds, 2 ounces for Annie -- began life. 鈥淚t was a testimony to the skill of the obstetricians to allow the twins to grow in the womb as much as they did, so that their lungs were able to mature,鈥 Rhine said. 鈥淭hey perfectly weighed the balance of being born early versus creating a heightened risk of cord compression and entanglement by letting them stay in utero.鈥澛

Now, as the girls approach their first Christmas and a date to take the girls home to Menlo Park, Calif., around the new year, Kate and Annie are already displaying their personalities. Kate is the 鈥渃alm one,鈥 and Annie the 鈥渨ild woman,鈥 according to mom and dad. The super-happy parents will be taking the girls home to a nursery decked out with plenty of pink, and the family dog is already sleeping in the girls鈥 room to stand guard. Kevin is looking forward to a low-key Christmas with his new daughters -- even if he spends it at the hospital helping the girls get healthier. 鈥淲e鈥檙e really grateful,鈥 Kevin said.聽 鈥滵espite the chaos surrounding our delivery and pregnancy, Packard Children鈥檚 really put us at ease with their experience and expertise, and it鈥檚 one of the best holiday gifts a family could ever ask for.鈥

About 麻豆果冻传媒 Children's Health

麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with聽Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford聽at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65聽locations聽across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.聽Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of聽, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at聽stanfordchildrens.org.