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Twins' mothers 'need more advice'

16 Jul 2009

Two thirds of parents of twins and multiple births are being denied access to vital birth advice, BBC News reports. In a recent poll conducted by Tamba (Twins and Multiple Births Association), 1,300 mothers were surveyed. Only 36% of them had been offered specific parenting education sessions to prepare them for caring for twins, triplets or more.

According to Tamba, evidence shows tailored parenting advice makes a difference to outcomes - newborn babies are less likely to suffer problems or require medical interventions and are also less likely to have a preterm birth.

Mothers are also less likely to require lengthy hospital stays or experience complications, including post-natal depression (PND). Overall, 17% of the mothers surveyed experienced depression, which is nearly double the widely reported estimate of all mothers who develop PND. For mothers who did access targeted education classes the rate was 15%, compared with 19% for those who did not have the classes.

Tamba chief executive Keith Reed said: "At the moment it is a matter of luck if parents-to-be get on to education classes tailored to multiple pregnancy to help prepare them. The rest are left scrabbling around on the internet for advice.

"This education should be the rule, not the exception."

Multiple Births Foundation director Jane Denton agreed there was great inconsistency in provision. She said multiple birth parents "need specific support to help them cope with the practicalities of having two or more new babies. They need support to establish breast feeding.

"Equally important is looking at strategies so the parents do not become completely exhausted through caring."

The government watchdog NICE is developing national guidelines on the management of multiple pregnancies, but these are not expected until 2011.

(BBC News, 16 July 2009)

Tags: Talk To Your Baby