Amnion And Chorion Separation.

Hello,
I realize I am replying to something you posted 2 years ago, but I have been desperately trying to find people in my same situation. I am 16 weeks pregnant and have had a very rocking pregnancy so far. I bled for the first several weeks, only to find out I had miscarried a twin. Now I have been told my amnion and chorion are separated - some areas are fused, but there still remains a pretty good gap. I recently had an amnio and paid to get early results. The results came back negative on Downs. Now we are just worried about pre-term labor or early fetal death. Would you mind sharing how things turned out for you?

Thankfully yours,
Mel

I found this on another board, hope it helps some

Congratulations! The first thing to do is to relax and enjoy your
pregnancy - it goes by so fast and before you know it, you'll be
holding your little bundle in your arms. The most important thing you
can do now (for the health of your little one and your peace of mind)
is to have good communication between yourself and your doctor. If you
have any questions at all, you should be able to call your doctor (or
his/her assistant) on the phone and receive full answers to all of
your queries. That said, I can point you to a few websites that may
help you to understand some of the medical jargon, and in turn help
you to form questions for your next visit with your doctor.

I found an excellent article at The Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto website, "Sonography of the Early First Trimester" by Shia
Salem, M.D.. Below are a few excerpts, however, I suggest you have a
look at the entire article (starts about a third of the way down the
page).

Regarding amnion - chorion separation, I don't think further testing
is indicated for now. Amniocentesis is usually performed between 16
and 18 weeks, if indicated, to determine if the baby has Down's
syndrome (I assume that is what you are concerned about).

"The amnion is a thin, rounded membrane that surrounds the embryo. In
turn, the amnion is completely surrounded by the thick, echogenic
chorion. The yolk sac is situated between the amnion and chorion. The
amnion develops at about the same time as the yolk sac (5 to 6 weeks).
However, because it is very thin, it is more difficult to visualize
and is seen only when it lies perpendicular to the ultrasound beam.

Unlike the yolk sac, the amnion grows rapidly during pregnancy. The
growing amniotic membrane begins to fuse with the chorionic membrane
by the middle of the first trimester and fusion is not complete until
at least the 12th week and often as late as the 16th week. By 16
weeks, the amnion has fused with the chorion, thus obliterating the
chorionic cavity. The chorionic cavity is more echogenic than the
amniotic cavity due to its thicker, stickier consistency. Sonographic
differentiation of the amnion and chorion is usually not difficult in
the first trimester, thus permitting the reliable determination of
amnionicity and chorionicity in multi-fetal pregnancies."

Regarding nuchal translucency:

"NT screening is a PROGRAM, not a measurement in isolation. If NT
screening is offered, it should be done so in the context of a
comprehensive program that offers:

* Pre-ultrasound counselling,
* Ultrasound by trained sonographers (with ultrasound quality
assurance program),
* Post-ultrasound counselling and risk-interpretation,
* Immediate access to genetic counselling and invasive testing if
an abnormality is detected, and
* Appropriate follow-up."


"Median NT measurements have been established for each gestational age
between 11 weeks to 13.6 weeks (CRL 45mm to 84mm)."

"... a normal ultrasound examination would substantially reduce her
age-related risk by approximately 50 percent (ie, 1:342 to 1: 686).
While this may be reassuring, she should be informed that ultrasound
may miss up to one in every three DS fetuses (about 1/3 of DS fetuses
will have a normal ultrasound examination).

For information on nuchal screening:

Fetal Medicine Foundation, Canadian Branch
The Fetal Centre at The Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Avenue, Toronto, Canada
Phone: (416) 813-8228
Fax: (416) 813-7880
Web site: http://www.hscFetalCentre.org

The Fetal Medicine Foundation UK
8 Devonshire Place
London, England
For information and course material:
Web site: http://www.fetalmedicine.com
The Hospital for Sick Children: Frontiers in Fetal Health
copyright 1999-2001 The Hospital for Sick Children
http://www.sickkids.on.ca/FrontiersinFetal Health/FFHMarch2001.asp

In regards to your unicornuate uterus question, the separation is
probably not related, but that is one of the questions you can put on
your list for your doctor. There is such a wide variation of this
abnormality between women, that only your doctor could tell you for
sure.

1. What is a Unicornuate Uterus?:
http://www.dyspareunia.org/html/unicornuat e_uterus.htm

2. Unicornuate Uterus
http://www.hystercity.com/unicornuate_uter us.htm


Additional Links:

bounty.com: nuchal translucency test:
http://www.your-pregnancy.co.uk/page16.asp

Placenta and Membranes
Explanation with drawings.
http://calloso.med.mun.ca/~tscott/embryo/e mb5.htm

Search Strategy:

://www.google.com/search?q=amnion+chorion+ translucency+scan&num=100&hl=en&am p;lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_qdr =all&sa=n&oq=amnion+chorion+transl ucency+sca

Terms Used:

amnion
chorion
translucency
scan

In closing, I would just like to say, please don't worry too much.
Stick to your regular routine (swimming should be fine, but ask your
doctor), and try to find a quiet time for yourself everyday that you
can sit down and sing a song for your baby or read to him/her. Doing
positive, pleasant things for your baby will make you (and your baby)
feel good - try not to spend too much time crunching numbers and
thinking about test results. The time will pass, whether you are
worrying or not.

Please ask for clarification if needed, before rating my answer. I've
tried my best to answer your questions, but truly only your doctor can
give you an informed complete picture (I hope I don't sound like a
broken record!).

Hello,
Thank you for your info. I am trying to stop worrying so much and to relax, but it is hard! I am concerned about the separation between my amnion and chorion, and what this will mean if they do not fully fuse together. I know only time will tell - I just hope that is things remain the same that our little girl will have enough room to grow. Thanks for your reply.

Mel

some other things I found on other boards


>
>Nisa-
>
>As I type this, I am hoplding my three week old son who had a
>chorio-amnion separation at 13 weeks, which resolved at 22 weeks (until
>then it looked like a balloon was collapsing in on the baby on
>ultrasound imaging). My other son, who is 4 now, was also a healthy
>baby with one that resolved at 24 weeks.
>
>My peri told me that it is't uncommon to see them before 16 weeks, but
>afterthat they get a little rarer, but for the most part, the outcomes
>are exceedingly positive.
>
>A web search gave me a lot of positive feedback on this, and the
>archives here have a lot of information.
>
>I hope I helped a little. It was eally scary at the time, but everyone
>is fine here now....
>

I found this on OBGYN.net you may be able to find more info on this subject on this site I just didnt have time to look while watcing my 6 yr old and 3 yr old as well as my 9 yr old brother. Good luck and I wish you and your family all the best of luck.

chrystal

I'm in the same situation, except my doctor diagnosed it when I was 31 wks. I hope my baby is ok and according to the sonograms and doctors. My baby is appearing to be healthy and he is growing on a 54 percentile. All his organs are developing good and he is still gaining weight. He now weighs 4lbs 1oz. So all I can say is keep your head up and have faith in GOD. Because me and my baby have went through a lot of large obstacles and through it all, GOD still have me in my protected and shield in his blood. There nothing that can stop me, my baby will be here in less than 6 wks.

Hi, I had the same thing, it was found accidentally at 24 weeks, at 28 weeks my water broke, and here I am on bedrest. I am to stay in the hospital until a. I go into labor, or B. I get an infection.
If non of those things happen, I will be bale to stay pregnant for 34 weeks, at that point they will induce me.
My point is, read all you can, my Dr. didn't seem to take my situation seriously and told me to keep doing what I was doing and not worry too much, I did go in for progesterone shots, but it was too little too late.
My baby looks fine on ultrasound, no signs of ds or anything else. We won't know for sure until he is born though.

Hello, just wanted to update. The Dr. let me go until 35 weeks then they induced. I had placental abbruption as well as the low fluid, obviously because of the broken membranes.
But my baby is fine. He is a little boy and weighed 4lb 15 oz when born. He is a week old now and 5 lb now. Growing and nursing well.

Hello everyone.
So happy to hear that everything worked out well.
Has anyone ever heard of or is anyone going through Chorion-Chorion Separation with twins?
Althea