ABSTRACT
Goshen-Gottstein reports that her mothers of multiples experienced the births as a shock and many with ambivalence. She also reported that there was more opportunity to adapt to the multiple birth when the infants came home separately. Her families belonged to the middle or lower socioeconomic class of families living in Israel. All the families bought new homes very shortly before or after the birth of the multiples to make room for their expanded needs. The additional families were very comparable to the original sample in sociocultural and educational variables. Goshen-Gottstein reported that the mothers of her cohorts often spent time away from the infants for doctors appointments or shopping. Parents in these cohorts also shared care taking and play experiences with each other. The stresses were described very similarly to the cohorts in the nuclear sample.
