Social stigma and compounded losses: quality-of-life issues for multiple-birth families

Families with twins - a systematic review

“…Participation of spouses in caring for children and housework revealed important elements for reducing this impact. 24 Marital adaptation was associated significantly and positively with support provided by maternal grandmothers, in women with high levels of stress. Grandmothers' roles came out as relevant in the complex management of chores for the couple, contributing to the marital relationship in the first weeks after labor.…”

“…Another factor that worked as a stressor was the previous existence of other children, for the inclusion and diversity of family needs that this fact represented. 24 Multiple births increased the financial needs of families. 24,27 The percentage of women in families with twins who had paid work was lower than for other mothers.…”

“…24 Multiple births increased the financial needs of families. 24,27 The percentage of women in families with twins who had paid work was lower than for other mothers. More than half the mothers of twins did not go back to work outside the home (one year after birth), while women who conceived one child worked, on average, 20 hours per week.…”

“…26 Many women had to give up their jobs and careers, and if some women thought of this option as an opportunity, others felt that leaving their professions and careers led to partial loss identity and independence. 24 Opening the field to the social context where the family was included, it was found that in American society, this associated twining to infertility and to medically assisted reproduction, for which the mothers of twins felt more vulnerable to public assessments of their fertility and medical history. 24,27 In puerperium, nursing care in the context of the home increased safety and self-confidence among women, and it became important support that needs to be adopted.…”

“…The objectives of the studies under analysis were to identify variables that influenced the quality of life of parents, 24 focusing in particular on mental health, 29,31,[35][36] psychosocial well-being 26,30 and parental stress. 23,26,37,[40][41] They also covered marital adaptation, 29,32-33 parental adjustment 25,32 and behavior 25 and development of children, 28,30 seeking to identify the determining factors of this process 23,[27][28][29][30][33][34][37][38]40 and using twinning parenthood as a reference.…”