Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

FROST () (): The week of 19 to 26 March is Multiple Birth Awareness Week, and it was great to see the Australian Multiple Birth Association in Parliament House today. While I'm here, I would like to recognise the member for Hughes and the member for Werriwa, who are also twin mothers.

People often say, 'Oh, I'd love to have twins!' While they can be cute, the reality is that they're hard work, and they can be costly. And I have to say that people rarely say, 'Oh, I'd love to have triplets.' The reality of multiples is that they're often a difficult and high-risk pregnancy and a premature birth, with all the complications that can entail, and with all the potential ongoing medical costs. It often requires early parental leave on the part of the mother. In my case, I went off at 18 weeks due to complications. Then there's the higher likelihood of one parent needing to stay home with the babies due to the cost or availability of child care. And that's not to mention sleep deprivation. Then there's the sheer cost of a rapidly and unexpectedly growing family. Not enough seats in the car means you have to trade up the car. If there are not enough bedrooms in the house, how do you cope? Two, three or more cots, beds, capsules and multiple-birth prams are expensive and difficult to source second-hand, let alone the cost of nappies. And there are fewer hand-me-downs with multiples.

My triplets are now 23 years old and I'm very proud of them—I wouldn't have it any other way—but I very much support the Australian Multiple Birth Association's call for additional support for families. (Time expired)