Twins Trust’s breastfeeding peer supporters are all mothers who have breastfed their own twins and have been trained by the NCT to support other mothers of multiples. The first point of call is to email  [email protected] and one of our peer supporters will get in touch

Common questions we get asked:

I’m pregnant with multiples – can I still breastfeed?

We get lots of emails from mothers who are pregnant with twins or more and who have lots of questions about breastfeeding more than one baby. Unfortunately, there are still many people including health professionals who are doubtful about whether this is possible to, and so it can be very useful for a mother expecting twins or triplets to hear from a mother who has breastfed.

We share information about the supply and demand mechanism which means it is possible to feed more than one baby – the more babies are feeding from a mother the more breastmilk is produced. If you want to chat through milk production then contact our peer support team via [email protected] 

We also know that many multiple birth babies can be born early and won’t necessarily be able to feed their babies directly from the breast straight away so we share information about the importance of getting breastmilk supply established by breastfeeding or expressing as often as a baby would be feeding – the recommendation for expressing is 8-10 times every 24 hours including during the night time. 

We suggest parents read our breastfeeding more than one booklet as it is packed with information about the realities of breastfeeding two babies including this quote from one mother which sums it all up ‘My feelings about breastfeeding? Very hard work but oh so satisfying’

My babies were born early, I’m currently feeding them  a mix of breast milk  and formula top ups. I want to move to fully breastfeeding – is it possible?

Sometimes when babies are born early it can take a while for them to get the hang of breastfeeding and so mother and babies may be discharged home feeding from the breast but also feeding top ups from the bottle. All that can be exhausting for the parents and we are often contacted asking how they can move to fully breastfeeding.

Some mothers find having a period of a couple of days when she is looked after by others and just concentrates on feeding the babies any time they show signs of wanting to feed can help boost her breastmilk supply and will start to decrease the need for formula milk top ups.

Whilst watching that the babies’ weight gain continues, some mothers try gradually reducing the amount of top ups. If you have questions around this then our breastfeeding peer support team are happy to set up a chat with you via our email contact.

How can I feed both babies together?

The answer is that there are lots of different positions that mothers can use and our breastfeeding booklet shows some of the most common ways. The booklet also has lots of tips on how to make feeding two together work for you. 

Some mothers find that they enjoy having one to one time with each baby and so prefer to do most or all of the feeds with one baby at a time. It’s up to the individual mother and her babies to find what works best for them.

To find out more about our Breastfeeding Peer Supporters' Scheme please click here or email [email protected] 

By Janet Rimmer - Coordinator of Twins Trust's Breastfeeding Peer Supporters' Scheme