MFM/geneticist view on prenatal management of twins.
Twin pregnancies are associated with an increase in both fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Health care supervision is complex, increasingly requiring care from maternal-fetal medicine specialists. This review discusses optimal twin prenatal management, which includes recognizing increased twin pregnancy risks specific to twin-types; counseling families regarding fetal complications, ranging from prematurity to cerebral palsy; screening for aneuploidy and open neural tube defects; specific twin guidelines for diagnostic testing, including chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis; and monitoring for maternal complications.
O'Brien
Barbara M
BM
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02905, USA. bmobrien@wihri.org
D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000473:pathology; D004200:Diseases in Twins / Q000151:congenital / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014427:Twins / Q000235:genetics*