As the publisher of TWINS™ Magazine, the world-leading parenting publication for families with twins and higher-order mulitples, I am very excited that we have partnered with two other national organizations, the Fetal Hope Foundation [1] and the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs, Inc. [2] (NOMOTC) to declare April as the very 1st National Multiple Birth Awareness Month!

Because multiple birth rates have doubled since the 1980s, more families are faced with issues and challenges that only pertain to raising two, three or more children at the same time.  Some issues that these families face include what to know when expecting multiples; a high occurance of Twin-to-Twin-Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) and other fetal issues directly affecting multiple birth pregnancies; premature births and low birth weights; twins with special needs; the exceptional physical and bonding demands placed on parents and as their multiples grow up, the separation of twins in classrooms.  Most recently, the birth of the 2nd set of Octuplets ever born has raised even more questions about multiple births and the costs and issues associated with having and raising multiples.

TWINS™ Magazine wants to increase the public's awareness about these issues and offer resources and much needed support for the thousands of families across the US that are either expecting or raising twins and higher-order multiples.  By partnering together with other national organizations, we are confident that more people will know exactly where to go to find us and others that are dedicated to helping and serving this special group.

So, what are the REAL costs of raising twins?

Larger-than-singleton medical costs from the get-go--approximately 50% of twins and multiple births occur before 38 weeks gestation, which means babies are often born premature.   A higher percentage of twin births are C-section, which means a longer hospital stay and possible complications for the mother.   Antenatal, delivery and postnatal care costs: hospital obstetrical care, including ultrasound scans, hospital visits for ultrasound, inpatient stay, delivery and postnatal care and stay for mother is: twins $5,000 each, triplets $10,000 each, quads $17,000 each (estimates assuming no complications). One set of premature twins costs the health care system approximately $130,000 from birth to discharge Multiple-birth babies are more likely to be admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) after birth. The more babies born in the set, (i.e. twins, triplets, etc.) the lower the birth weight of each child and the increase in admittance to NICU's.

Cloth Diapers Anyone?  Especially in the first year raising multiples expect 'double and triple' the diapers. On average, twins use approximately 200 diapers per week; as they get older the number of diapers decrease but the size increases, so the cost for a week remains consistent and costs the average family with multiples around $30.00 to $40.00 per week or around $2,080 per year.   In the first 12 months, parents can expect to use approximately 5,500 to 6,000 diapers.  Other families choose to use a cloth diaper service to reduce costs.

Breastfeeding vs. Formula--For some families with multiples, it comes down to cost.  If breastfeeding, mothers need to budget for a little more food to maintain 1,000 calories a day.  Using infant formula is a considerably larger expense.With twins, plan on using approximately 3,000 to 4,000 oz. of powdered formula (equates to over 20,000 fluid oz. when mixed), or 850 to 900 cans of liquid formula in the first year.  Typically, families can spend on average at least $45.00 per week on formula, when buying in bulk or around $2,340.00 per year.

Some General Facts on Multiples and Multiple Births
·    Multiple Births are the fastest growing segment of the preterm birth infant population
·    Approximately 10% of all prenatal deaths are multiple-birth children
·    Multiple-birth children are at a five times greater risk of birth defects and/or disabilities
·    Multiple-birth children with special needs require expensive, additional educational support
·    Parents of multiple-birth children are at a higher than average risk for drug abuse, alcohol abuse, family violence and divorce
·    Overall 15-17% of multiple births result from infertility treatments and it is estimated that 60% of triplets, 90% of quadruplets and 99% of quintuplets result from infertility treatments
·    Incidence of twins is one in 90 births (without fertility treatments)
·    Incidence of triplets is one in 8,100 births (without fertility treatments)
·    Incidents of quadruplets is one in 729,000 births (without fertility treatments)
·    Incidence of quintuplets is one in 65,610,000 births (without fertility treatments)
·    Fraternal (dizygotic) twins/triplets are the result of two/three fertilized eggs
·    Family history, mother's age, number of previous pregnancies, and race are determining factors in the incidence of fraternal multiples
·    Identical (monozygotic) twins/triplets are the same sex, have the same blood types, hair and eye color and chromosomes. They are a result of a single egg splitting after conception. Environmental influences can determine that characteristics such as height, weight, ears, nose, lips are somewhat different. Some monozygotic multiples are told they are fraternal (dizygotic) - only DNA fingerprinting provides conclusive results
·    Fraternal twinning does not necessarily skip a generation.

We are co-hosting a free Multiples Family Festival with NOMOTC and Fetal Hope to celebrate the 1st National Multiple Birth Awareness Month this Sunday, April 19, 2009 at the Curtis Hotel in Denver, Colorado. The festival is open to the public and will feature a Multiples Marketplace, games & prizes for the kids, a twins contest, a TV Casting call for a brand new TV show called "All About Multiples" and a TWINS™ Magazine Cover Photo Contest [3].