Multiply the Love - Preterm Twins

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

10 Apr 2006 06:00 AM

Early deliveries of multiple birth pregnancies are actually pretty common. Statistics show that at least half of all twin births and over 90 percent of triplets are born before the 37th week of pregnancy. Preemies face developmental and medical issues. The earlier they are born, the more challenging their difficulties will be.

Luckily, multiples seem to mature faster in the womb than your single babies. Compared to single birth preemies, multiple birth preemies are usually prepared for developing and breathing outside the womb.

In The Art of Parenting Twins by Patricia Malmstrom discusses the fact that low birth weights and premature deliveries in the case of multiple births is more often due to crowding within the womb and not the mother's health issues. Malmstrom researched twins for over 20 years and in her experience, the majority of premature births in multiple gestations were simply because there was more than one of them in the first place.

If you are a mother of preemie twins or you are expecting twins with the inherent possibility of premature delivery; you should know that it is the participation of the parents that plays a key role in your babies' growth and development. While this is true of all baby development, learning to care for multiples has its own set of challenges.

You will need three key ingredients to succeed:

• Love
• Patience
• Practice

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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