The battle for resources starts early in twins sharing a placenta
A new ‘cinematic MRI’ machine used at the Robert Steiner MR Unit at Imperial’s Hammersmith campus is being used instead of ultrasound to gain an even greater picture of fetal development in twins.
Importantly, it picks up changes in brain development that could indicate that one fetus is receiving more nutrients than the other. In cases of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), where the twins share a placenta rather than have one each, it can identify earlier whether there is a need for treatment that could save the lives of both fetuses.
Dr Marisa Taylor-Clarke [Surgery & Cancer] spoke to Reuters in a video about the technique, which was featured on the Huffington Post website. She advised that the it shouldn’t be used except in extreme circumstances: “MRI scanning is a very specialised technique and the vast majority of women have healthy pregnancies without any problems.”
In the video, which also appears via CBS News on the Daily Mail website, the two twins are shown fighting in the womb, suggesting that fighting for space is just as important as fighting for food, even before they’ve been born!
