The Multiple Birth Clinic provides expert care and support to women and their families who are expecting more than one baby: twins, triplets or more.
The care is provided by a multidisciplinary team consisting of obstetricians, ultrasonologists, midwives and dieticians.
Health issues treated
Pregnancy complications as a result of being pregnant with twins, triplets, or more.
What we do
We provide care, information and support to families who are having a multiple birth.
Information for patients
Multiple births
When you are first diagnosed with twins, you will find out what type of twins you are expecting. They can be:
- Identical (also called monozygotic) twins, which occur when one fertilised egg divides in two to form two embryos. Identical twins have the same genes and chromosomes, and are always the same sex. These twins share the same placenta and usually have their own sac in the womb. Occasionally, though, twins will share the same sac.
- Fraternal (or dizygotic) twins occur when two separate eggs are fertilised by two different sperm. They may be the same or different sexes .These twins have their own placenta and sacs. Fraternal twins are more common than identical and tend to run in families.
- Triplets can occur from one, two or three eggs . There may be one, two or three placentae and one, two or three sacs in the womb.
The clinic
The Multiple Birth Clinic occurs on Friday mornings and is held in the Pregnancy Clinics at the hospital. The first appointment includes a number of consultations, so it is advisable to allow the whole morning to attend appointments.
If you are having identical twins, you will continue to be seen regularly in the Multiple birth clinic. The timing of delivery of identical twins depends on many factors and will be assessed on an individual basis.
If you are having fraternal twins, you will have an initial appointment in the Multiple birth clinic and then be transferred to team care for the remainder of your pregnancy. You should expect to deliver your babies at about 38 weeks gestation.
When possible your ultrasounds will be scheduled on the same day as your clinic appointment.
Childbirth education
We recommend you attend childbirth education classes as they are designed specifically for multiple births.
Referrals |
Your doctor/GP will need to fax a referral and a copy of your ultrasound report to the Multiple Birth Clinic at the Womens. |