Major health organizations offer conflicting advice on co-bedding twins (sleeping them in the same cot/crib). Some, like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), advise against it due to a lack of safety evidence and potential risks, while others, like the UK's National Health Service (NHS) and the Lullaby Trust, state it is safe if specific guidelines are followed.
This is called co-bedding and is perfectly safe. In fact, putting twins in the same cot can help them regulate their body temperatures and sleep cycles, and can soothe them and their twin. If you put your twins in the same cot, follow the same safe sleeping advice as for a single baby.
Q. Should my twins be in separate cribs or in the same crib? To help prevent SIDS, it's recommended by the AAP to separate your twins into their own individual cribs if they are currently crib sharing. Especially as twins start to move more, crib sharing goes against safe sleep recommendations.
As such, women pregnant with multiples are more commonly recommended bed rest in an attempt to reduce maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality.
Twins are at approximately two-fold higher individual risk of SIDS compared to singletons. Malloy and Freeman successfully matched co-twins of 272,029 twin pregnancies and of these found 767 of which one or both had died of SIDS. There were seven cases of both twins dying. The relative risk of this occurrence was 8.17.
Age: If you're over the age of 35, you're more likely to release multiple eggs during ovulation. Family history: If your mother's side has a history of fraternal twins, there is a chance you could conceive twins naturally.
Risk factors for SIDS include: Placing a baby on his side or stomach to sleep, rather than on his back. Premature or low birth weight babies. Overheating the baby during sleep.
Mo-Mo twins should always be delivered by cesarean section to avoid umbilical cord complications for the non-presenting twin at the time of the first twin's delivery. A woman carrying Di-Di or Mo-Di twins is a good candidate for a vaginal birth if: The presenting twin is in a vertex position.
The 5-10-15 baby sleep method is a variation of controlled crying or the Ferber method, where parents wait 5, then 10, then 15 minutes (or longer intervals) before briefly comforting a crying baby, without picking them up, to teach them to self-soothe. It's a timed check-in approach to sleep training, allowing babies to learn to fall asleep independently by gradually increasing the time between reassuring visits, helping them learn to self-soothe.
Expectant mothers of twins should persist with side sleeping throughout pregnancy. However, accommodating the additional weight of twins may make finding a comfortable position more challenging. Consider utilising pillows to provide support behind the back and under the belly, aiding in maintaining comfort.
And when it comes to helping twins or multiples co sleep soundly, there's no best practice when it comes to positioning. Though most twins sleep side-by-side for the first month, you should feel free to let your twins shift to head-to-head, feet-to-feet, or side-by-side diagonal without concern.
The 90-minute crib rule is a sleep training technique, often used when toddlers transition to one nap, that extends the standard "crib hour" to 90 minutes: you keep your child in the crib for 90 minutes from the start of the nap, even if they wake early, to encourage longer naps by allowing them time to fall back to sleep in a non-stimulating environment. It helps babies connect sleep cycles, turning short 30-40 minute naps into longer, more restorative ones.
If your twins disturb each other's sleep and you have the space available, you might want to give them separate rooms when they are over the age of 12 months. Important: Sharing a room with your children for the first six to 12 months is recommended by First Candle to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Neonatal units
If your babies are born early they might need to spend time at the special care baby unit (SCBU) or the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In just under half of twin births and almost all triplet births, at least one baby has to go into special care for a while.
While cosleeping is often seen as a way for parents to bond with their baby and simplify nighttime feedings, it comes with serious risks. Research has shown that sharing a bed with an infant significantly increases the chances of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related dangers.
SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.
Yes, the Navy SEAL sleep trick (an 8-minute power nap with elevated legs) is a real technique for quick rest, popularized by former SEAL Jocko Willink, that helps improve alertness and reduce fatigue, though its effectiveness depends on individual relaxation skills and it's not a substitute for full nighttime sleep. The method involves lying down, elevating your feet above your heart (on a chair or couch), relaxing facial muscles, dropping shoulders, and clearing your mind for about 8-10 minutes to promote relaxation and blood flow, preventing grogginess.
The 2-hour rule for babies means they shouldn't stay in a car seat (or travel system seat) for more than two hours at a time, whether in or out of the car, because the semi-upright position can strain their developing spine and restrict their breathing, increasing the risk of low oxygen levels, especially for newborns and preemies. For long journeys, parents should take breaks every two hours to take the baby out, allow them to lie flat for a while, stretch, and feed, ensuring they get proper head/neck support and circulation.
So the question of going past 38 weeks on day six of that week (6/7) doesn't come up that often! But for those who do get there, the best data available suggests that at 38 to 39 weeks, the risk of stillbirth for twins seems to be higher than the risk of neonatal death after delivery.
The average weight of twins is 2.5kg.
Monochorionic twins are at higher risk because they share a common placenta; they are primarily at risk from circulation abnormalities like twin–twin transfusion syndrome (the smaller twin [donor] does not get enough blood while the larger twin [recipient] becomes volume overloaded) and intrauterine growth restriction.
Health care providers should encourage parents to do the following to reduce the risk of SIDS: Always place your baby on his or her back to sleep—for naps and at night. The back sleep position is the safest, and every sleep time counts.
Pacifiers increase salivary production. Antibacterial compounds in saliva could provide a protective effect. Combined, increased salivation & antimicrobial action provide a plausible mechanism. Most preventable & nonpreventable SIDS risk factors relate to infection.
Globally, infectious diseases, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, remain a leading cause of under-five deaths, along with preterm birth and intrapartum-related complications. The global under-five mortality rate declined by 61 per cent, from 94 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 37 in 2023.