[The prognosis of early-diagnosed twin pregnancies and the modification of their perinatological data using an ultrasonic monitoring system].

We report on the outcome of 129 twin pregnancies, discovered in the first trimenon by ultrasound. 14 (11.9 per cent) of the diagnosed twin pregnancies terminated as an abortus, 10 (8.5 per cent) as births with only one child (twice fetus papyraceus) and in 79.7 per cent as real gemini. Perinatological data of these 94 twin births in 1982-1986 are compared with 103 gemini pregnancies in 1971-78, when sonography and diagnosis ante partum was hardly known. Both groups did not differ with regard to the premature child rate, length of gestation, birth weights and weight differences of both children. The rate of hypotrophic children was reduced to half, especially through reduction of hypotrophic term infants. The number of twins with low birth weight was reduced, but the weight group under 2000 g however was almost constant. Perinatal mortality, still-birth rate and infant-mortality dropped by 50 per cent.