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Parents of Multiples Divorce Rate

On Behalf of | Oct 10, 2019 | Divorce

Having multiple kids at once may pose a challenge to parents. The higher financial commitment required to support twins, trips, quadruplets, etc. may bring stress and strain on a marriage. If you need help with a divorce case, contact a Tacoma Divorce Attorney. If you’re wondering, what are the parents of multiples divorce rates? Read on below.

Mothers of Multiples

Many moms who give birth to multiple babies at the same time find themselves battling postpartum depression. A study published in the Pediatrics Journal analyzed over 8,000 moms, who were part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. The researchers found that mothers of multiples were 43% more likely to have postpartum depression than those with single babies.

  • Postpartum depression displays symptoms such as loss of appetite, withdrawal from others, insomnia, and mood swings.

Fathers of Multiples

The Archives of Women’s Mental Health reports that parents of multiples experience heightened symptoms of anxiety, depression, and parenting stress. Additionally, fathers of multiples sired through IVF are more depressed postpartum than dads of single babies sired through IVF.

Any mental issues resulting from having twins or other multiples can bring tension within a committed relationship. A lot of married couples look inward and blame each other for their current situation.

Financial Struggles

The tension within the marriage maybe because of financial strain and child maintenance, in addition to maintaining work, chores, and sleep. Some parents find themselves at a breaking point and getting a divorce appears more realistic to them.

In a certain study backed by the Twins and Multiple Births Association, 28% of parents of multiples underwent divorce or separation. The researchers also came to the conclusion that parents with twins were more likely to have problems with paying bills. Furthermore, the married couples were more likely to have spent all their savings on necessities, because of having multiples.

  • The study also discovered that the twins and triplets involved faced more material depreciation, because of lack of money. Such children missed out on having bicycles, birthday parties, or purchasing school uniforms.
  • 62% of the families of multiple-births in the study confessed that they were worse off financially after the kids were born. Following the decline in finances after getting multiple kids at once, their marriage suffered under the strain.

Sticky Situation

Twins make up about 3-4% of all USA births, and the increase of fertility treatments is making multiple-births more prevalent. Due to those reasons, the divorce rate of parents of multiples is expected to continue rising.

That’s partly linked to how parents treat having one kid followed by multiples, as opposed to their first birth being twins. Dr. Anupam Jena from Massachusetts General Hospital compared census data from a period when newer fertility treatments didn’t exist.

Out of the 800,000 families studied, approximately 13% of moms with a non-twin firstborn reported being divorced. On the other hand, 14% of the moms who had twins in their first birth were divorced.

Unhappiness in a marriage can bring the need for a divorce regardless of the number of children you have. All parents whether they have single-births or multiples are obligated to support their kids whether they stay together or not. Through creating a functional custody arrangement, co-parents of multiples can provide them with the best life possible without a tense relationship.