Multiple Realities

2nd – 27th September 2019
Library of Birmingham

A new photography exhibition exploring the experiences of living as a family with twins and triplets has been launched by Birmingham City University.

The exhibition titled Multiple Realities, which includes a foreword from the University’s Chancellor, Sir Lenny Henry, was created by the University’s School of Visual Communication and the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre – a collaboration between the University and the Multiple Births Foundation.

Photographs of the families were captured by the University’s visual communication students in locations across the West Midlands region reflecting each family’s lives together.

The exhibition showcases personal experiences of being a family with twins or triplets, offering a unique insight into the different highs and lows they encounter.

Chris Brewerton was one of the twins who starred in the photographs. Reflecting on the experience, he said: “It made us realise all the stories from our childhood. It gave us an opportunity to talk about being a twin, and speak to our family about how that was.

“This is a really special exhibition, it’s a very moving experience seeing all the photos on display.”

This comes as The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has today (4 September 2019) published an update to its Twin and Triplet Guidelines with new recommendations for the management of multiple births on topics including fetal complications, timing of birth and analgesia.

Co-lead for the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre and Professor of Nursing, Dr Merryl Harvey, said: “We are delighted that this collaboration between the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre and the School of Visual Communication at Birmingham City University has culminated in this innovative exhibition.

Multiple Realities clearly demonstrates not just the joys, but also the challenges of living as a family with twins and triplets. Through these remarkable images, we hope to raise awareness of the real-life experiences of multiple births families.
Dr Merryl Harvey

“Our aim at the centre is to enable all healthcare and allied health professionals to have the skills and knowledge to support multiple birth families and to recognise when additional help is required to prevent or organise early intervention if problems arise. Parents with multiples should have specialist care from the diagnosis of a multiple pregnancy onwards.”

Jane Denton, Director of the Multiple Births Foundation and Co-lead for the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre, added: “It is excellent that the NICE Twin and Triplet Guideline has been updated based on the latest evidence and now includes recommendations about the delivery of twins and triplets as well as the management of multiple pregnancies.

“First published in 2011, the guideline has been critical in setting the standards for clinical care to give the best possible outcomes for mothers and babies, most importantly having a specialist multiple births multidisciplinary team to provide consistent high quality care.

“Promoting the implementation of the guideline will continue to be a key part of our work and we are thrilled that the launch of our exhibition to raise awareness coincides with this.”

Find out more about the Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre