Comparison of feeding among multiple birth infants

Mothers of multiples who choose to feed their infants breast milk are faced with a seemingly overwhelming set of circumstances. Since mothers of multiples could potentially feed their infants differing proportions of breast milk, current methods of obtaining breastfeeding data for mothers of singletons may not adequately describe the breastfeeding behaviors of mothers of twins and triplets. The goal of our study was to determine the proportion of breast milk each infant of a multiple set was fed over a six-month period and compare the feeding regimens of sibling infants. Results of this retrospective study based on maternal reports indicated that there was almost complete agreement in the proportion of breast milk fed to siblings born from the same pregnancy, regardless of stratification based on gestational age, plurality, or location of the infants (hospital vs. home). The Pearson correlation coefficient for duration of breast-milk feeding between sibling twins was 0.99 (p < .0001); among sibling triplets the values were .97, .98 and .99 (p < .0001). A better understanding of the process by which twins and triplets are fed breast milk sets the stage for future research and can ultimately lead to the development of strategies to increase breast-milk feeding rates for multiple birth children.