Ms Hutchinson has four-year-old fraternal twin girls and fraternal twin boys who are six-months-old, yet no one in her family dating back to her great grandparents has ever had twins.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Australian Multiple Birth Association (AMBA), a non-for-profit organisation which assists families with multiple births, while also raising awareness of their unique needs.

AMBA said when the group was formed, medical teams were often surprised by the arrival of second or third babies and disposable nappies were non-existent.

The organisation has over 50 clubs, including the Orana Multiple Birth Association of which Ms Hutchinson is a member.

Ms Hutchinson said she doesn't attend the group meetings because she finds it too hard.

continued page 2

"If I went to the twins group no one would be able to help me as they would be too busy with their own two screaming babies," she said.

However, Ms Hutchinson said she finds invaluable support from the AMBA Facebook page.

"You can ask questions and get answers within five minutes from other twin mums who can help from their own experiences, or someone has already asked the question you were going to ask.

"Unless you have twins you actually have no idea," Ms Hutchinson said.

She said the group is fantastic because it provides valuable information without having to leave the house- a great ordeal when you have four children under five.

"If you run out of milk it's a really shitty experience. It takes longer to get everyone in the car than it does to do your shopping."

Ms Hutchinson said the great things about having twins was that her children always had someone to play with, to be "worst enemies and best friends".

"It's quite wonderful once you get over the shock."

She said her advice for mothers with multiples is to accept any assistance they're offered and to take advantage of support groups.