Monochorionic twins

When a mommy is pregnant, sometimes she can have two babies in her belly at the same time. These babies are called twins! But sometimes when there are twins, they share something very special called a placenta. A placenta is like a special blanket that helps the babies get food and oxygen from the mommy's belly. When twins share a placenta, they are called monochorionic twins.

Now, it's important to know that the placenta is like a bridge between the mommy and her babies. Imagine the placenta as a bridge with many different lanes. Each baby needs their own lane to get the food and oxygen they need. When there are two separate placentas, each baby gets their own lanes on their own bridge. But when twins share a placenta, they need to share the lanes on the same bridge.

Sharing lanes on the same bridge can sometimes cause problems for the babies. This means that monochorionic twins need extra special care from doctors and mommies so they can stay safe and grow big and healthy.