Money worries mean a more frequent divorce rate among parents of multiples, according to new study By Peter Russell
 
Parents who have twins and triplets face significant financial hardship, with families finding their income drops following the birth of their children.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham found that parents of multiples were twice as likely as families of singletons to find the financial pressures ‘quite difficult’ (13%, compared to 7% of families of singletons where the mothers were of the same age).

The report also found that parents of multiples are more likely to separate or divorce (28%) than other families with children (24%), with ‘financial distress’ often given as the reason for splitting up.

There are now over 10,000 multiple births each year in England & Wales, plus around 800 in Scotland and 300 in Northern Ireland. Twin births occur in about one in every 89 pregnancies and triplets in one in 7,921.

Pressure group calls for financial help

The Twins and Multiple Births Association (Tamba) said the latest evidence supported its demand for the Government to follow the lead of other European countries in offering additional financial help to parents of multiples.

One mother of twins, Suzanne Pammen, told Tamba: "We love our twin boys dearly, but have spent much of the last two years sick with worry, just trying to give them the basics. We have good jobs and are careful with money, and yet we've racked up nearly £40,000 of debts.”

Pammen said that the cost of childcare was so extortionate that she would be better off if she gave up her job and lived on benefit. However, she fretted about what sort of example that would be setting her children.

The study

To reach their findings the Birmingham team examined data from two studies. The first involved research into 19,000 babies born in the the UK between September 2000 and January 2002. The second was the Government’s Family Resources Survey (2004-07) which charts how many households live in poverty or have low income.

Among their other findings were that:

• 62% of multiple birth families said they were financially worse off after their babies were born, compared with 40% of other parents
• Between 2004 and 2007, the poorest quarter of all families were living on £192 per week or less, but the poorest quarter of families with twins or triplets had to get by with £181 per week or less
• Families with multiple births reported higher levels of material deprivation, and lower well-being for their children
• Nearly half (48%) of those raising twins or triplets had used up some or all of their savings, compared with 37% of all families
• They were more likely to be unable to afford key items for their children, and to be behind paying their bills
• Nine months after giving birth, mothers of multiple births were nearly 20% less likely to have returned to work than mothers of singletons

The study’s author, Professor Stephen McKay of the University of Birmingham, says in a statement that he found that multiples were more likely to be born into families whose parents were married and who were in work. “These factors should provide some degree of 'protection' against low incomes and deprivation, so it is deeply concerning that twins or triplets are experiencing greater levels of material deprivation than singletons, and that their families are at greater risk of separation and divorce,” he comments.

taken from Boots WebMD