Many couples out there, especially women, look forward to having twins. Twin births are one of the monumental experiences in life that have profound effects on the lives of the parents. The fact is that having one child is hard enough.
Getting two babies at the same time may mean double the trouble. While some dream about dressing twins in matching clothes, they rarely think about the time, energy and money that’ll be needed. Since such factors affect the parents directly, it’s usually the marriage that suffers most after the birth of twins. Do not be misled; twins are, without a doubt, a blessing. However, the birth of twins may put a tremendous strain on a marital relationship.
Divorce is never easy, but consulting a Tacoma Divorce Attorney can help make the journey easier. Here, we look at the parents of twins divorce rate and why it’s so high.
What’s the Parents of Twins Divorce Rate?
Anupam B. Jena, M.D., Dana P. Goldman, and Geoffrey Joyce did a study to establish the link between twins and divorce. For their study, they used the 1980 U.S. Census data. They found that twins at first birth were linked to higher divorce rates at 13.7% compared to 12.7% for singletons. The link was statistically higher among moms attending college at 14.4% with twins vs. 10.5% with single births.
Parents with children older than eight years had a divorce rate of 15.6% with twins in comparison to 13.5% with singles. However, those with younger children had rates of 10.6% for twins compared to 10.8% for singletons.
The 2011 study also showed that mothers with at least 4 children had a greater association between twin births and divorce. Moms with twins at fourth birth had a divorce rate of 15.4. That’s higher than 11.3% for all other moms with four or more kids. Moreover, moms with twins at first birth had divorce rates of 13.7% compared to 12.7% for single first births.
From the figures above, it’s clear to see that twin births may be linked to higher parental divorces. The researchers concluded that the risk may be higher for mothers who don’t finish college and those with more children already.
Why is the Divorce Rate for Parents of Twins So High?
Most marriage experience substantial strain during the first year after twins are born. The reasons are many. For starters, young twins tend to take up a lot of time and energy. The parents have to deal with double the amount of care daily, including
- Baths
- Feedings
- Diaper changes
- Nursing
- Other care
As a result, they rarely have time or energy left to focus on the marital relationship.
Another huge impact of twins on a marriage is the financial stress. Paying for diapers, clothes, day care, and possibly baby formula is expensive for two children. Add to that some medical bills and you have a financial disaster. Raising a single child is already pricey, and having two children at once is even more costly.
Couples with twins also face the saga of “who does more work”. In most cases, one parent spends more time with the kids than the other party. One parent may choose to stay home from work to take care of the children. That parent will likely feel overwhelmed and somehow resentful of having to be stuck with diaper duty. For those reasons and more, the marriage may be at risk.