Vanishing Twins & Womb Twin Survivors
The Search for Completion © Martyn Carruthers

Online Help for Womb Twin Survivors

Is there a history of twins in your family?
Do you feel sad, alone or incomplete? Do you seek a Soul Mate?
Millions of people attempt to control such feelings of loss and emptiness.
We help people change the feelings and behaviors that follow the loss of a womb-twin.

Human twins and triplets are famous for a closeness that seems to begin in their mother's womb. Although most people forget their pre-birth experience, most twins and triplets share strong bonds throughout their lives. If a twin dies, the surviving twin will likely experience unpleasant consequences ... and these consequences may also occur if a twin dies before birth ... while in the womb.

IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH, A PREGNANCY,
OR THE HEALTH OF A CHILD, PLEASE CONSULT A MEDICAL DOCTOR

The idea of vanishing twins may have began in ancient Greece. Over 2000 years ago, the philosopher Plato wrote that people are conceived perfect, and then split in half by Zeus. Plato described human loneliness, the desire for lost perfection and searching for twin souls ... sometimes called twin flames.

... and when one of them meets the other half, the actual half of himself,
the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy and
one will not be out of the other's sight even for a moment ... Plato (340 BC)

Most multiple pregnancies result in single babies. Although modern ultrasound technology can identify multiple pregnancies very early in pregnancy, I am told that many doctors and technicians won’t tell the mothers, and may not record the existence of more than one fetus. They wish to avoid triggering feelings of grief and loss, knowing well that later ultrasound scans will show mostly singletons.

When a twin disappears, the surviving twin may develop emotional problems, even if the child is not told that a twin vanished. Dr. William Baldwin wrote in Spirit Releasement Therapy that a dead twin attaches its soul to the surviving twin. Dr. Alice Rose wrote in Coping with Eating Disabilities that some eating disorders are the result of a twin dying in the womb due to competition for nourishment. But one twin cannot eat the other, as is sometimes reported. That's a myth-take.

Dr. Michael Newton, author of Destiny of Souls, disagrees with the notion of twin souls. He wrote that his clients have primary soul-mates rather than twin souls.

If a multiple pregnancy results in one live birth, the surviving child might feel that an important person is missing. Later in life, this may motivate a search for a missing soul twin or soul mate. Such searches seem common, with high expectations of happiness and fulfillment. (We also find that many people with aborted siblings also spend their lives seeking important missing people).

During searches for soul mates, sequences of transferences - of potential perfect partners - are often found, but most people will be later rejected as inadequate. When people transfer a dead twin onto living people, the subsequent devotion to and the later dismissal of those people can cause huge suffering.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

The term in-vitro means in glass. Couples who cannot conceive naturally may visit an in-vitro or IVF laboratory where ova (egg cells) from the woman fertilized in vitro, usually with the husband's sperm. A few of the embryos are then implanted in the woman's uterus. Most embryos are discarded - very few develop into a fetus and even fewer into newborn babies. (See Infertility)

Hundreds of thousands of human embryo die in IVF clinics. Sadly, unwanted embryos are garbage, although their stem cells may be extracted for research. (We are still collecting information about the emotional and behavioral consequences of in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.)

Vanishing Twins

Vanishing twin syndrome was described by Dr. Stoeckel in 1945 as multiple gestation with subsequent disappearance of one or more fetus. Vanishing twin syndrome is more often diagnosed if ultrasound is used during early pregnancy. Statistics vary, but about 90% of twins die or vanish before birth. (It is also called Twin Embolization Syndrome)

The twin conception rate may be as high as 30%, while the twin birth rate is about 3%.
This suggests a high chance that you shared your mother's womb with a twin.

The death of a fetal twin is a high risk factor for cerebral palsy. When a fraternal twin dies in the womb, the prevalence of cerebral palsy in a surviving twin is increased by a factor of 40 (8%, compared to an overall prevalence of 0.2%), perhaps due to variations in the fetal blood supply (U of Liverpool 2003).

Occasionally, a dead fetus may be ejected with afterbirth as a small cluster of dead tissues (fetus papyraceous). Sometimes, remains of the missing fetus are found within the womb twin survivor, perhaps in a teratoma tumor containing fetal tissues. Occasionally, a tiny baby's skeleton is seen on an x-ray of an adult or is discovered during surgery. Whichever way, a twin has ... vanished.

If the fetuses of fraternal twins merge, a chimera is formed with two sets of DNA.
(If the fetuses of identical twins merge ... all body cells will have the same DNA).

Would you like to benefit from our experience?

Part 2: Consequences of Missing, Dead or Vanishing Twins

Some people unconsciously identify with a dead family member - especially when that person died in a way that induces guilt. This is common, for example, following a suicide, an abortion ... or the death of a twin. We often coach people to quickly resolve these deep-seated fixations and identifications.

Losing a twin can be a significant emotional experience. Although behavioral and emotional issues resulting from the loss of unborn twins are outside the models used by most helping professionals, we offer coaching solutions for these consequences, for other issues concerning dead relatives and for brothers and sister problems).

We find that many womb twin survivors show some of these consequences:

Avoids finishing projects Cannot specify clear goals Feels peaceful in cemeteries Believes part of self is missing Fascinated or obsessed by twins Chronic melancholy or sadness Sense of profound loss or loneliness

Dark rings around eyes Immature, childish behavior Extremely sensitive to people Has miscarriages or stillborn babies May seek a perfect partner or guardian angel May be depressed - life does not make sense May seek or cling to codependent relationships

Beliefs, Bonds & Soul Mates

It seems that entanglement with a missing sibling may be expressed as behaviors based on emotions such as guilt, shame and sadness; and on unpleasant beliefs that support inappropriate behavior (e.g. obsessions, compulsions, eating disorders or hypochondria). Examples of these limiting beliefs are:

1. I am abandoned and left alone
2. I am guilty for living - I cannot be happy
3. My spiritual path is searching for my soul mate
4. If I don't find my soul mate I will always feel alone
5. I give my life energy to my soul mate / missing twin

These and similar beliefs seem common in people seeking soulmates. While being with a twin soul is often described as profoundly spiritual, intimate and inspirational, people we have met who proclaim Soul Mate relationships often seem enmeshed in conditional love, symbiosis or codependence.

We help womb twin survivors change unpleasant emotions.
We offer solutions for other relationship and emotional entanglements.