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Is This Shadow a Missed Twin?

QUESTION

Dear Ms Ultrasound,
I went for my 18 week ultrasound. Everything seemed fine but the picture they gave me looks like twins. There is a second face behind the first face. I would think that it might be a shadow but the nose and head shape are different. The mouth is very close but the shape of the second head is smaller.

Is it possible they missed one? It really looks like a second baby. I go for another ultrasound in a couple weeks but I am going crazy in the meantime.

Have you seen other ultrasounds that that this happens and it is just a picture mistake?

ANSWER

Hello,
At 18 weeks it is just about impossible to miss twins! Relax and make a note to self that the professionals know what they are looking at.

You could be looking at the placenta, an arm or leg bent in a funny position, a piece of the umbilical cord, the edge of the uterus, or your own anatomy.

Sometimes ultrasound is such a nebulous imaging modality. Many times its like looking at the clouds and making images out of them. If you have had your ultrasound done by a licensed professional or doctor I can assure you they should never miss a twin.

With Regards,
~Jane Foley, RDMS

Jane Foley

Jane Foley has worked as a Sonographer (Ultrasound Technologist) since 1979. Jane has lived and worked in many parts of the world including Saudi Arabia. She is a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer or RDMS. She pulls a wealth of information from her experience in the field of Radiology and her interactions with such a broad cross-section of cultures she has visited. She now makes her home on the island of Maui with her English husband, Michael.