The NHS midwifery team on the Isle of Wight is looking to bump up support for women expecting twins.

Led by Consultant Obstetrician Sabeena Allahdin, the team are setting up a new support group called the Island Twin Club to give women more information about their pregnancy, labour, pain relief and breast feeding.

The club will also provide an opportunity to meet other women with twins to share their experiences and benefit from mutual support and ask questions of medical and midwifery staff. The first meeting took place on 10 June 2008 and will then be held every second Tuesday of each month. The sessions are free.

Around one in seventy births results in twins with an average of 70 sets born on the Island each year.

Dr Allahdin said: "We are looking to set up a support groups called the Twins Network Group for mothers of twins which will meet for coffee mornings at various dates in Health Centres and Children's Centres in Ventnor, Cowes and Ryde where there are creche facilities available. The idea is to bring women who have had or are having twins together to offer mutual support and share information. We are working with Sure Start on this and would like to recruit volunteers from amongst the mothers to run social clubs in their local areas.

Antenatal Screening Advisor and Midwife Amanda Pearson added: "As a mother of twins myself, I know only too well how the experience can be at times joyful and exhilarating but also sometimes very tough.

"Twins can be very demanding and for some expectant mothers the prospect of bringing up two babies can be quite daunting - particularly if there are other toddlers already in the house.

"Women often have questions around how to cope, breast feeding, buying clothes and accessing emotional support. They can experience very powerful emotions and often just chatting to someone who has been through the same experience can be really helpful."