>  I see
> this too often where 35-36 week babies are treated as if they are
> term--they
> are prime candidates for readmission for dehydration and jaundice. Multiply
> this by three with triplets and a mom recovering from a c section. Sure,
> mom
> can do kangaroo care at home but I'm not sure she can do it for 3 babies 24
> hr. per day.
>
A couple of comments --
There is some evidence that multiples not only grow more slowly but also
develop more slowly in the last several weeks in utero. In other words,
some studies show that multiples born at 35 - 36 weeks share some
indicators of development with more premature singletons. It's mostly
just my conclusion, but it is consistent with the fact that disparity in
growth between multiples and singletons increases with gestation and
also with increased incidence of symmetry disorders. It would be great
if research were done on how all of this effects suck, but ever since I
have started looking I have noticed how often twins and triplets have
disorganized suck, facial palsy, tongue-tie or something that might
possibly be related to this. (Not good research yet, I realize.)
Second -- lots of mothers do better at home. I never felt that I had
enough hands in the hospital, and did much better ordering around my
support system at home. Young children are more willing to hand you a
glass of water than a busy nurse who has real patients with actual
medical needs. This is, obviously, contingent on a good helping system,
but I have been quite amazed to note how the average amount of
mother-in-law, husband and neighbour contribution increases with the
number of babies. I tell mothers that they may be able to manage an
infinite number of babies at LLL meetings, for instance, because
mother-to-mother support includes holding "the other" baby or babies.
Just a couple of thoughts.
Jo-Anne, proud mother of multiples, though humble because they aren't
triplets

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