BREASTFEEDING TWINS: Family #1. Dr Pamela Douglas, F2F Nova Health Co. October 2023

A mother of twins demonstrates how she tandem breastfeeds

The video below shows a mother of twins breastfeeding both babies at the same time.

Breastfeeding twins is an amazing achievement, truly quite heroic. It's hard enough work caring for one baby! Breastfeeding twins (or multiples) is one form of tandem feeding.

Another kind of tandem feeding is breastfeeding siblings, either at the same time or at different times during the same day or night.

Why I generally don't recommend football hold for twins

With great commitment to the wellbeing of her babies, this woman has experimented her way through the days and nights and settled on what has works best for her in the midst of her own unique life with her children.

I don't usually recommend the football position myself, because I've concluded over the years that it's very difficult or indeed impossible to get the biomechanics right in football hold, significantly increasing a woman's risk of nipple pain and damage and also fussy baby behaviour at the breast.

Before long, babies are pushing off the back of the couch with their feet and little legs, too, worsening breast tissue drag.

However, this lady offered, with great generosity, to demonstrate how she breastfeeds her twins, in the hope that use of this video might support and encourage other women in her situation. She did not ask me for help, and you'll see I don't intervene.

Some things you might be interested to notice

As observers however who are interested in how fit and hold works, we might quietly notice that

• The twin breastfeeding on the left is fussy at the breast due to breast tissue drag (- the baby seems to be coming on higher than where the nipple wants to fall)

• The mother's hand on back of the babies' neck could also be contributing to that baby's backarching and fussing (since hands and fingers applying pressure on the back of the baby's head or neck can turn ooff breastfeeding reflexes)

• The length of these gorgeous little babies means they push off from back of couch, which contributes to nipple and breast tissue drag

• It can be difficult to achieve deep and symmerical face-breast bury in football hold, with flanged lips and breast tissue drag evident for these little ones.

Some babies breastfeed well, without fussing or maternal pain, despite large amounts of nipple and breast tissue drag. You can find out about this here.

As clinicians, we only offer suggestions if the mother asks for help.

Acknowledgement

I acknowledge and am grateful for the generosity of the parents from Nova Health, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, who courageously consented to their discussions, consultations and images being used in the Possums virtual resources for the sake of other women and their babies, or parents and their babies and toddlers.