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Selective Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Although most pregnancies with monochorionic twins (twins that share a common placenta) are uncomplicated, the presence of a common placenta does pose a relatively increased risk to the welfare of the fetuses. The single placenta contains blood vessels that link the blood flow between the twins. Unbalanced flow of blood from one twin to the other twin may lead to a cascade of events that result in twin-twin transfusion syndrome. Another potential problem that may occur in monochorionic twins is the disproportionate distribution of placental mass between the twins (unequal sharing of the placenta). This factor may result in poor nourishment of one of the twins, resulting in subsequent poor overall fetal growth. Because this problem typically affects only one of the fetuses, this condition has been coined selective intrauterine growth restriction...
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