NEW REPORT: MULTIPLES UNFILTERED
AUSTRALIAN MULTIPLE BIRTH ASSOCIATION
NEW REPORT: MULTIPLES UNFILTERED
The Australian Multiple Birth Association is releasing a new report today titled “Multiples Unfiltered”. The report provides a first hand account of the unique challenges faced by mothers of multiples and the difficulties created by the lack of hands on and financial support.
The report found that:
- 60% of partners went back to work within 2 weeks or less; and
- 78% were back at work within 4 weeks or less of the mother giving birth to their multiples.
Mums of multiples need more hands-on support and they need their partners at home longer but they also need to financially support their growing family. It is the dilemma that many parents of multiples are facing in this cost of living crisis.
Multiple birth families face significant challenges when raising their twins, triplets or more including:
- parents of multiples are 9 times more likely to experience disabling exhaustion;
- Only 20% of mothers of multiples return to work by the time their multiples are 3 years old in comparison to 40% of mothers of singletons;
- 52% of parents of multiples said they had challenges securing placements at childcare centres for their multiples;
- 67% of parents of multiples reported that childcare was not affordable for them;
- parents of multiples are 5 times more likely to experience postnatal depression;
- the costs of twins and higher order multiples are up to 5 and 13 times, respectively, higher than those of a singleton up to the age of 1; and
- It takes on average 28 hours and 12 minutes a day to look after triplets.
It has been a year since the Australian Multiple Birth Association released the “Multiples Matter” report calling on the Government to implement recommendations:
- 8 weeks of additional parental leave per additional child in a multiple birth;
- access to subsidised hours of in-home care, nannies, early educators, housekeepers; and
- increase access to the Multiple Birth Allowance to more multiple birth families.
It is disappointing that the Government has not taken any action on these recommendations, despite the clear and desperate call from parents of multiples across Australia. Multiple birth families feel forgotten by subsequent Governments in Australia and continue to be.
A Director of the Australian Multiple Birth Association and triplet mum, Silje Andersen-Cooke said, “The Australian Multiple Birth Association looks forward to continuing to try and engage with the Government and like-minded organisations to address these unique challenges and improve the level of support Australian multiple birth families receive.”
Taylah Tudehope-Glachan (Mum of Quadruplets) said, “The financial impact of quadruplets is unimaginable until you’re experiencing it. It was a struggle paying for all their essential needs and affording 4x of things, as well as needing to update the house with extra bench space, removing front steps to be able to get the prams up/easier to get in and out of the house, upgrading our bin for all the nappies (we go through 65L bin every two days), a shipping container to allow for more storage, and on top of that a bigger car to fit four babies. We also were not eligible for the Multiple Birth Allowance, despite needing to survive off one teacher’s salary, so we had no choice but to set up a Go Fund Me page.”
Download the full report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18aL0bEgf5h-0QvOcWhIBgTm_0pDAtfTg/view?usp=sharing
Download the media release here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hay5JcX7zsETNptB5i03IwHd2-hcFyhf/view?usp=sharing
Media Contact - Silje Andersen-Cooke 0406 793 026
Thursday 21 March 2024
