Supporting multiple birth families for over 30 years.
Are you expecting twins, triplet or more? Are you scared? Excited? Are you wondering what to expect? What to do? What do you need? Vancouver Island Multiple Births Association (VIMBA) is here for you.
Bringing a new life into the world can be an intimidating experience, but two or three babies at the same time can be overwhelming. Having someone to talk with who has gone through the same thing you are about to helps ease the stress of the long days and nights dealing with situations unique to parents of multiples. You will hear "double the trouble" many times in the future but remember "double the fun" and "twice is nice" are equally appropriate. VIMBA will help you will the challenges of raising multiples but will also help you appreciate the joys.
History
The Victoria Parents of Twins and Triplets Association was founded in 1974. An ad was place in the local newspaper seeking parents of multiples. The club began with eleven members. Edda Thompson, the first president, was the driving force behind the formation of the club. Over the thirty years our membership has grown to include over 120 families. Most of our active members have multiples less than 6 years of age; these are the years when the information and support are most needed. In 2003, the association changed its name to reflect the demographics of its membership and to welcome those members from throughout Vancouver Island.
Membership
Membership dues are $30.00 per year per family. Families with multiples aged 6 and over dues are $20.00 per year.
The fee includes a newsletter published 10 times per year, membership in Multiple Births Canada (the national organization), all VIMBA's children and adult activities including information packed meetings and contact names and numbers for our members.
Meetings
Meetings are held monthly. Please call to verify the day, time and location. VIMBA business is conducted first, followed by a scheduled topic or guest speaker. At the meetings, the library is available for anyone interested in checking out a book or tape, there is a coupon exchange for coupon clippers and a 50/50 draw. The meeting winds up with coffee, goodies and a time for talk with other members.
Library
VIMBA boasts a library with an extensive selection of books and tapes dealing specifically with the challenges and joy of having multiples. These books and tapes are available to any member, no cost, for a loan period of one month.
Kids Mega Sale
VIMBA is renowned for its clothing and equipment sales held four times a year at Pearkes Arena. Members bring in clothing, toys, equipment and other miscellaneous items that their children have outgrown. These sales are a major fundraiser for the club. The sales are open to the general public; they are very popular and successful.
Special Occasions
Perhaps the most favorite events of VIMBA are the special occasions. The Halloween Party, Christmas Party, Easter Egg Hunt, Camping Trip and the Family Picnic are annual events that involved the whole family. These events are well attended and enjoyed by everyone - be prepared there are lots of kids!
Throughout the year there are also several "adult only" events including Moms' Retreat, Mother's Day Lunch, Moms' Shopping Trip, Movie Night, Dad's Night Out and Bowling Night - parents need time off too!
NIMBY (Not in my Backyard) Playgroup
Moms, Dads, Nannies and all the kids meet twice a month at a convenient, secure location in Greater Victoria (please contact VIMBA for time and location). The children can play indoors and/or outdoors together for two hours and the adults can socialize, compare notes or ask advice from older multiple families.
Newsletter
"Twincerely Yours" VIMBA's newsletter is published and mailed or emailed to the membership every month except January and August. The newsletter includes updates on all club activities, minutes of the monthly executive and general meetings, a calendar of upcoming events, reports on recent activities, new families and new births in our club, helpful hints, member profiles, classified ads and many more exciting items.
Multiple Births Canada
Multiple Births Canada (MBC) is a national organization whose mission is "To improve the quality of life for multiple birth individuals and their families in Canada".
MBC publishes a quarterly newsletter "Multiple Moments" that is available at general meetings for $2.00. These newsletters include many interesting articles on issues that parents of multiples face everyday. Many of these articles are contributed by members who share their experiences, feelings and thoughts on raising multiples.
MBC also has support registries for parents with special needs, such as:
- The Loss of Multiples Support Network
- Single Parents Support Network
- Special Needs Support Network
Facts About Multiples
- There are more than 100,000 multiple-birth children in Canada under 13 years of age and 41,000 multiple-birth children five years of age and under each year
- More than 4,000 sets of twins are born in Canada each year more than 75 sets of triplets, quadruplets and quintuplets (combined) are born
- Multiple births in Canada are on the rise: birth of twins has risen 35% (per 100,000 successful pregnancies) between 1974-1990
- The incidence of triplets has increased almost 300% and quadruplets over 400% between 1974-1990
- Overall 15-17% of multiple births result from infertility treatments
- It is estimated that 60% of triplets, 90% of quadruplets and 99% of quintuplets result from infertility treatments
- Incidence of twins is one in 90 births (without fertility treatments)
- Incidence of triplets is one in 8,100 births (without fertility treatments)
- Incidents of quadruplets is one in 729,000 births (without fertility treatments)
- Incidence of quintuplets is one in 65,610,000 births (without fertility treatments)
- Fraternal (dizygotic) twins/triplets are the result of two/three fertilized eggs
- Family history, mother's age, number of previous pregnancies, and race are determining factors in the incidence of fraternal multiples
- Identical (monozygotic) twins/triplets are the same sex, have the same blood types, hair and eye color and chromosomes. They are a result of a single egg splitting after conception. Environmental influences can determine that characteristics such as height, weight, ears, nose, lips are somewhat different. Some monozygotic multiples are told they are fraternal (dizygotic) - only DNA fingerprinting provides conclusive results
- Fraternal twinning does not necessarily skip a generation.