26. What are the most common complications my multiple birth infants will face?

Infant complications generally depend on the delivery gestation. If a mom delivers at 35 weeks, the babies may just need a little time to feed and grow. However, if delivery occurs between 23- 28 weeks, the babies would face significantly more challenges and spend many more days in the NICU.

Babies born prematurely frequently experience problems coordinating the sucking, swallowing, and breathing process which may mean the infant requires a feeding tube. Other medical complications of multiple births include jaundice, breathing problems requiring intubation or surfactant treatment for lungs, and blood transfusions.

Although not as frequent, more serious complications such as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and infection can occur especially if delivery is before 30 weeks.

The NICU Notebook is available for purchase in the MOST Supertwins store.

MOST is also proud to offer Your Premature Baby by Frank Manginello, MD and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, M.Ed.

Please Note:
MOST provides these FAQs for informational purposes and cautions visitors not to use the content below to make treatment decisions without personally consulting a qualified health care provider. Reuse of this content without proper citation is a violation of copyright. To obtain permission to use Supertwins 101 content contact MOST.

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Copyright 2005     Updated 5/9/08