title: Mothers' Attitudes Toward Feeding Twin Babies in the First Six Months of Life: A Sample From Sakarya, Turkey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is stated in the literature that a mother's breast milk is sufficient for more than one baby.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This descriptive study aimed to determine whether twin babies are breastfed during their first six months of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied the twin birth cases in a state hospital in Sakarya, Turkey between October 2011 and March 2013. The population of the study consisted of entire mothers who had delivered twins in the maternity ward of the hospital. The sample comprised 30 twins' mothers who agreed to participate in the study via telephone for six months. During these phone calls, they were asked how they preferred to feed their babies. The data were expressed as the mean and percentage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of the mothers participating in the study was 30.17±5.16 years (min. 19; max. 38). The number of mothers who stated that they had no previous experience of breastfeeding twin babies and had received training to breastfeed multiple babies was 17 (56.7%). Twenty-seven (90%) of the mothers had had caesarean sections, and half of the babies were preterm. Only a few of the babies were fed breast milk for five months. During the following months, the breastfeeding regimen was as follows: 5 babies were breastfed for a month, 5 babies for 2 months, 4 babies for 3 months, 4 babies for 4 months, 2 babies for 5 months, and no babies in the sixth month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was found that the number of twin babies who were only breastfed in the first six months of life was low. According to the literature, a mother's breast milk is sufficient for multiple babies. Mothers expecting twin babies should be informed about the benefits of breastfeeding and be encouraged to breastfeed. They should also receive training on this subject.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nursan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cinar
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kose
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muge
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alvur
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Sakarya University, Sakarya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozlem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dogu
keywords: Breast Milk; First Six Months; Twin Babies