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Being told that you are going to be parents of multiples (twins, triplets and beyond) is truly a blessed event. You feel chosen and special. You may have struggled with infertility, and so appreciated a pregnancy with an instant family. You instantly became parents when you became pregnant. It is not something that happens magically at the birth of your babies. The emotional realization of this is very important, especially when your babies have passed away. You will always be parents of multiples. Instilling this message to yourselves, family, friends, and to the medical professionals that take care of you is connected to the sense of Peace that you will feel in the months, years, and lifetimes ahead after the delivery. What takes place during the delivery is very much the key to this sense of Peace. The delivery must be compassionate. It is a time to lovingly collect the keepsakes that you will carry with you for your whole lifetime. The gift of time, memories, and keepsakes for all the babies is on the main educational messages which encouraged the establishment of The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation.
When multiple birth loss happens during or just before delivery, the trauma is immense. You feel that you have gotten to the “light at the end of the tunnel”. You may have known that the pregnancy was experiencing complications, but you had made it to your goal of delivery after many weeks or months of struggling. Or, the pregnancy may have been complication free. Then, all of the sudden, crisis enters your life. You need to be aware that the shock is intense. You have not had any time to take in the reality what has happened. You need time to ask questions. It is OK to ask questions repetitively. You may not get answers immediately, but you will in the weeks to come. You may just need to “ask” over and over because this is part of being in shock. If you are asked a question about your babies from the doctor or nurses, don’t feel that you have to give answers that are final. You can change your mind at any time. Your shock levels will change every hour. It is OK to cry, you have permission.
Get a private room. You need privacy. You can spend your whole hospital stay with your babies. You can also see them more than one time. You are in control of this and don’t ever listen to a nurse or medical staff that tell you otherwise. This time is crucial for you to spend time with your children. This is a time to wash your babies and have them baptized. Dress them in special outfits picked out by you (from home or from the hospital) and/or wrap them in matching blankets. Take individual and group pictures. Place the babies in your arms, and take pictures. Put them in your arms, all of them, despite how early the loss, how small the baby. These are your children. This is your only opportunity for a very long time to put a lifetime of love, advice, hopes, dreams, and affection into a moment. Shock changes instantaneously and frequently during and after the delivery. If you have given an answer to a question about your babies during prepping, your answer will be different in the recovery room, and then in your private room hours later. Always ask to see your babies more then once. Some parents feel there must be a reason not to see their babies once they are asked if they want to. There is never a reason not to see your babies. Your babies are beautiful. They love you with all their heart. Not seeing them only sets the stage for later regrets.
You need to plan for your delivery by talking with your doctor about your loss so you understand each part of the delivery. Talk about it before you get to the delivery table. The “unknown” is ten times bigger then the truth. Your fears of seeing your babies if you have them, are not real. Being with your babies will be a time so very sad, but mainly a time you will cherish. It is crucial for you, your life and your marriages to do this. When All Of The Babies Pass Away If parents lose all of their babies, they feel the loss of a “family”. Losing one of the multiples is a loss of a family too, but losing all of the babies means there won’t be any babies brought home at all. This feeling of loss is intensified when the couple has no other children at home. Your feelings of deep loss are feelings you need to express. It is important to make a ‘birth plan’ and communicate it to your doctors and nurses before the delivery, if possible, including when and how you will see all of your babies. It is OK to make changes when the time comes, it is OK to be flexible. When the moment comes that the babies are delivered, it is actually the “true” beginning of your immense devastation. It is almost like the loss occurred just then. It is Ok to feel your emotions and ask questions about the babies being born. It is OK to cry. You need to see your babies, so you know that it wasn’t a dream. It really did happen to you. The reality is a nightmare come true, but it is the reality. It is healthier for you to see your babies because you have to go home and live with it. We greatly emphasize the importance of seeing all of the babies for these reasons, but even more importantly, for the simple reason that you spend time with your family the way you dreamed of for months, and for many…the way you dreamed for years. It will not be the way it was meant to be or a long enough amount of time, but it will be the time with your family of making precious memories. You deserve at least that.
The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation is available to help parents think about the idea of spending time with their children, the gifts they would give to them, and the keepsakes they will make to cherish forever. The following guidelines are given to help parents begin to do this, and to help medical professionals and caregivers to be sensitive to their needs and wishes. Unless you have experienced a multiple birth loss, you cannot truly understand the uniqueness of the experience. We are here to help you because we have experienced this ourselves. The following guidelines come from the pain, healing, and hearts of those who have truly “been there”. 1. Take Photographs with a 35mm camera of all the babies Often, professionals involved in a multiple pregnancy with loss do not often understand the importance for there to be pictures taken of all of the babies and not to do so with a Polaroid camera, but a 35mm for negatives and clarity. This is important for you to understand. You have to be your own advocate. Taking pictures is proof that you did give birth to twins or triplets. Something tangible for you to look at later of your beautiful children. It is such a state of confusion for families. Pictures reaffirm what you know deep inside your hearts. But, often, parents doubt their status as parents of twins or parents of triplets since they had a loss. Am I still the mother of twins or triplets? Of course you are. It can be difficult to voice out loud and to others that your parental status has not changed because of your loss. It should not have to be our job to explain ourselves, but unfortunately it becomes necessary. It is very emotionally draining for parents to explain our loss of our babies, because it may bring on more unsupportive comments from others. It is important to start right at the delivery in letting it be clear that you are still the parents of multiples and that your delivery will represent that. You will be gathering keepsakes for both of your babies and taking pictures. Tell your nurses and doctors you want to see all of your babies together. You have every right to do so. The more parents talk about their babies that have passed away, the stronger they will become in their self-esteem and in their confidence to continue their lives with peace. So, taking pictures will provide you with the reality, and you will not have to question if you are still the parents of multiples or if you ever were. It helps tremendously. Parents waited months to see and hold their babies. By not treating the delivery and recovery respecting this fact, a professional is setting the stage for the parents to believe their status has been taken away from them. Being parents of multiples will always be…it is a bond with your babies that can never be broken. The nicest thing said to one mother of twins experiencing a loss, “There is nothing that you did, can or ever could do that will ever change the bond between a mommy and her babies. You will always be as one.”. Getting keepsakes for all of the babies confirms to the parents, yes, you are the parents of twins, or yes, you are the parents of triplets…and your babies love you and are truly precious.
2. Film The Time With The Babies With A Video Camera What is most painful for parents after the loss in a multiple pregnancy, in time, becomes what they treasure and cherish most. Many would not think to video this time with their babies, that this is behavior meant for a happier occasion. This is a very private time for parents, and what others think, is irrelevant. Your time with your babies is precious and you will always remember it even without video. But, with video you will have one more keepsake. Keepsakes will help you get through very difficult days. You will hug them on rainy days, birthdays, Easter, and Christmas morning. The more you give yourself, the more you will have to help yourself feel a sense of Peace later. So many of us have only Polaroid’s to hold dear to our heart, and we have to worry about them fading. To prevent that, we somehow have to take them to a photo lab and have them made into negatives. It is a very painful and scary process for fear that the pictures might be lost or damaged and that is “all that we have”. Having video takes you right back to the intense emotions and love. Those emotions will be there without a video, but having it is a very precious gift. The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation will help any families who would like to have video taping done for them in a quiet, loving manner with experienced members of our organization who have also lost children in a multiple pregnancy. The following are guidelines we suggest in the video taping of your babies. Suggestions are for all of the babies despite how early the losses…how small the babies.
“Private” should be marked on the box so others know that they are not to enter the box and disturb the keepsakes. 11.PLEASE DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY. You may have prepared your nursery for two or three babies and have everything in place. Husbands or other family often feel an urgency to give everything away or take it back to the stores. You need to leave everything there and let the mother put things away at her own time. Again, put things away, but do not throw them away or take them back to the stores. Even with things such sympathy cards, baby clothes or other items….do not throw them away, but simply put them away. It is much healthier for the mother to come home to her house the way she left it before the delivery. In time, she will put things away or return them to stores. What is very important is that she do these things herself. Other family members must have trust in you. Tell them, “If you love me, then trust me that this is what I need from you.” You need them to let you deal with the nursery on your own. You need them to let you send out a birth announcement representing all your babies. You need to do, what you need to do to keep your status of mother and father of twins or triplets and don’t let anyone, including family, make you feel it is wrong. It is the truth and the key to your Peace and health. You Cannot Be Rushed This a time of great self-doubt. The more you can do on your own with encouragement, the stronger and more self-donfident you will become. All mothers who have experienced loss in a multiple pregnancy need to give themselves permission to let out that painful, longing cry for their babies. It is there. It may be too overwhelming to be in your house alone when you go home. It is terribly sad, but being alone will give you freedom to let your grief out. You need this. Moms, take one minute at a time. You have to learn how to live your life all over again. But, as you do, you will be bringing all of your babies with you. Learning how to do that takes a lot of time and soul searching. Remember, it is never goodbye, only I love you. Find your own way to bring all of your babies with you. I believe in you and know you can do this. From the Foundation We have found from speaking with many of the mothers and families that the way your delivery is handled plays a very crucial role in the sense of Peace that you will feel in years ahead. Keepsakes are more than reminders of our babies…they are tangible gifts from them to us. Too many insane statements are heard on how better off we are in some way or another for having lost our children. We know these statements are not true. As our self-confidence becomes stronger, we will verbalize it. You just have to take a deep breath and start. Having the keepsakes gives us a place to go when we know these statements are not true, and we need to tell our babies so. On Christmas morning, we can hold their baby blankets up to our cheek and hold onto them in our arms. We can hang their footprints in a beautiful frame on the wall for all to see. We can wear their lockets of hair in a locket around our neck. We can see their faces from their photographs and watch them on video. We can be with them whenever we want. This can be done regardless of any keepsakes, but they help tremendously. If we can’t have the lifetime of memories, we certainly deserve this much. We deserve them truly being here more. Remember, one day, we will truly be together again. After we have lived a very long, long life we will go to them and tell them all of our stories. Do you know what they will say? “I know mommy…I remember, I was there.” We hope that this booklet will be a source of comfort to families experiencing the loss of their multiple babies, and to the medical professionals to guide them in collecting keepsakes. The Twin to
Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation © The Twin to
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Take pictures of all the babies individually.