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21. What can fathers do to help care for their multiple birth children? Unlike singleton births where the father may be less hands-on with his newborn, fathers of triplets or more often wish, even need to become more involved with his newborns' care immediately after delivery. Many fathers of triplets or more find themselves making decisions on behalf of the babies in the NICU while his wife recovers from a difficult pregnancy and Cesarean delivery. Sometimes this role involves media exposure as well. To help with this aspect of being a new parent of triplets or more, MOST has put together a policy statement on multiples and media exposure containing information about the benefits and risks, as well as tips for responding to media requests. Fathers also serve a vital role in relaying updates to his wife when she needs more recovery time before she can visit the babies or make medical and personal decisions for her children. For most multiple birth families, the father continues to play a hands-on role in the childcare after the infants are discharged. To care for so many high-needs babies, mothers and fathers of higher-order multiples often form a very strong partnership in parenting. Read this interesting study on fathers of triplets conducted by one of MOST's Advisory Board members Jennifer Brout, Ed.M, PsyD
MOST also offers our book Expecting Multiples: A Comprehensive Guide covering a variety of topics related to pregnancy and delivery of higher-order multiples, include a special section for fathers and significant others.
Twin Services article "Twin Fathers Need Help Too" Married with Multiples: What Mom Needs The Partner's Role with Multiple Births
Copyright MOST 2005 Updated 8/30/10 |