The Newcastle Multiple Birth Club is here to offer support to our members who have given birth to their multiples early or have been admitted to NICU or SCU.
NMBC offers peer support from families who have had a similar premature birth experience. We can connect families with other support services such as Miracle Babies Foundation and Life’s Little Treasures.
Our Premature Birth Support volunteer is someone who is happy to make contact either via messages or in person. Often we don’t know our members are going through the challenges of premature birth with their multiples so we encourage you to reach out and connect with families who understand.
In Australia Preterm birth is defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy Sub-categories of preterm birth are based on weeks of gestational age:
early preterm (<34 weeks),
very preterm (28 to <32 weeks)
and extremely preterm (<28 weeks)
Statistics for preterm babies born in multiple births:
Statistics gathered In 2014 indicate that preterm multiple birth babies in Australia accounted for 63% of twins and all (100%) of other multiples (triplets and higher) being born preterm, compared with 7% of singleton babies. This is according to The Australian Government Department of Health website.
According to the AUSTRALIAN INSITUTE OF HEALTH AND WELFARE Admission to special care nurseries (SCNs) and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs): accounted for 74% of preterm births, 60% of twin births and 94% of other multiple births.
NMBC are here to help our members and encourage you to make contact if you need support during this challenging time.
Contact our Prematurity Support Officer: prematurity@nmbc.org.au
