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New advice about feeding twins and triplets

Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 4:10 pm

New advice about feeding twins and triplets

Parents now have access to free information on how to feed twins, triplets, or more multiple children at one time that is informational and evidence based.  The guide was released this week by the Multiple Births Foundation (MBF) and is called ‘Feeding twins, triplets, and more.’  The guide was published based on research that was completed by the National Prenatal Epidemiology Unit and made free by funding that was provided via the Big Lottery Fund.

Director of the MBF, Jane Denton, stated that within the UK one out of every 32 childbirths results in a twin or higher multiple births.  She continued to explain learning how to feed more than one baby correctly is usually one of the first concerns of parents who have multiple pregnancies.

She added that multiple birth babies are more likely to have a low birth weight and be born premature which will require them to be admitted to a neonatal unit.  Given this fact many parents do not actually start to feed the newborns until they are a few days to a few weeks old which can be very dramatic and nerve-wracking for parents.

For the first time, practical evidence-based advice and information on feeding twins, triplets and higher multiples is now freely available to parents.  ‘Feeding twins, triplets and more’, a comprehensive guide, is published today by the Multiple Births Foundation (MBF) with funding from the Big Lottery Find and based on research undertaken by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit.

“In the UK, one in 32 babies is born a twin or triplet,” says Jane Denton, director of the Multiple Births Foundation, “and how to feed two or more babies is one of the first questions parents ask when a multiple pregnancy is diagnosed. Yet our research suggests that many mothers want more guidance on feeding.”

“Twins and triplets are more likely to be born preterm and of low birth weight, requiring admission to a neonatal unit,” she adds. “Many will not be able to feed directly for the first few days or sometimes weeks. It can be a very anxious, even dramatic, time for the parents.

One twin twice the size of the other

Filed under: Premature babies — Alan @ 7:07 am

Olli Reid has always looked upwards toward his twin brother, but not for the reason that most people would think.  Instead, he looks up to his brother Alfie because despite being a twin Alfie was born at twice the birth weight of Olli, due to problems that occurred before the twins were born.

Olli was born at a low birth weight of four pounds, while Alfie was almost nine pounds due to the fact that Alfie’s size started to suffocate Olli and stole his nourishment in the womb.

Even though Alfie may have been a bully in the womb, the brothers have developed their normal twin bond outside of the womb, with their mother stating that Olli will not settle down for bed unless Alfie is beside him.

Doctors delivered the twins eight weeks early due to fears that Olli may not survive in womb, although there was a high risk that with his low birth weight he would not survive outside of it as well.  However he defied the odds and now both boys are comfortable at their home in Banff, Aberdeenshire with their parents.

The twin’s parents had been trying to conceive for four years before the mother became pregnant and lost one child to a miscarriage before conceiving the twins.  Doctors discovered the abnormal weight discrepancies after she was in a car accident and a scan was performed to check on the twins in the womb.

Doctors expect that it will take Olli about two years to level out at the same weight as his twin.

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