Press release
New study to identify breastfeeding support for parents of multiples
A new University of Dundee study will explore ways to strengthen breastfeeding support for families with multiple babies.
Published on 26 October 2026
Credit - Arabella Futcher
Experts from the University’s Faculty of Health will coordinate a nationwide study that aims to identify how parents of twins, triplets and other multiples can be assisted if they wish to breastfeed, often in the face of significant practical challenges.
Funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), Dundee researchers will collaborate with experts at the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Birth Centre at Birmingham City University, Twins Trust, Breastfeeding Network and NHS Tayside for the Twin and Multiples Feeding breastfeeding support (TANDM) study. Together, they will engage with parents of multiple children and host workshops across the UK to produce recommendations for healthcare providers.
“Rates of breastfeeding among multiple birth infants are lower than those of single babies, often causing distress to parents who had initially intended to breastfeed their young during pregnancy,” said Dr Anna Gavine, an expert in maternal and infant health at Dundee who is leading the study.
“While breastfeeding offers significant health benefits for both mothers and babies, parents of twins and higher-order multiples often face additional challenges.
“Multiple babies are more likely to be born prematurely, and many require specialist neonatal care, making breastfeeding more difficult. There are also the practical, physical challenges of having to breastfeed more than one or two babies, which can be daunting to a new mother.
“Parents of multiple children are often overlooked in research, so by working with this group and utilising their first-hand experiences, we can create tailored advice to make the lives of future parents in similar circumstances as easy and stress-free as possible.”
Professor Alastair Denniston, Director of the NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme, said, "This study will provide crucial information from parents with lived experience of breastfeeding after multiple infant births, helping to identify the challenges they face and how best to support them.
"The NIHR celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and over the past two decades, we're proud to have funded a wide range of women's health-related studies like this which have made a real difference in improving women's healthcare, while also helping in our aim to build a fairer health system."
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.
We do this by:
- funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care
- investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services
- partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research
- attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges
- collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system
- funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.
Our work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.