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My twins were born 5 weeks early and were thus considered premature babies with low birth weights. I was always warned by many people, from our pediatrician to well-meaning friends that premies, especially twin premies tend to be weak and develop more slowly compared to singleton babies born on the same gestation week. Well, I am happy to say that my boys proved them wrong. They started walking at 10.5 months, were perfectly bilingual at age 3, and have age-appropriate fine and gross motoric skills.

I guess all these misconceptions about multiple premies may have some valid basis. Previous studies show that multiple-birth premies, especially those born on or before the 32nd week, tend to have more health problems compared to singleton premies.

Recent research results, however, show this is not necessarily true. Canadian researchers observed that there are no big differences in health outcomes between single and multiple premies, except in the following:

• Multiple premies tend to have higher incidence of respiratory distress syndrome
• Multiple premies are less likely to have severe retinopathy, an eye disorder
These findings show that there is no reason to underestimate preterm multiple birth babies at all.

Source:

Obstetrics & Gynecology 2008; 111: 365-71.

Tags: health outcomes, multiples, premature babies, premies