About the centre

Why Twins?

Twin pregnancies are roughly five times more likely to be complicated by preterm birth, preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction, and other complications, compared with single-baby pregnancies. These complications can result in a considerable risk of the mom and baby being seriously ill or even dying.

Twin infants are about five times more likely to die by their first birthday than “singleton pregnancies”, or pregnancies where the mom is carrying one baby. Twin infants also comprise a disproportionate portion of neonatal intensive care admissions and have quadruple the risk of developing cerebral palsy.

There is an urgent need to promote research in the field of twin pregnancies to increase our understanding of how and why these pregnancy complications occur in twin pregnancies, and to develop treatment and care plans to decrease the risk of complications.

The research conducted by Sunnybrook’s Twins Research Centre will have a profound impact on both the short and long-term health of twin infants and their mothers.

Dr. Nir Melamed

Head of the Twins Research Centre

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The Twins Clinic

A woman expecting more than one baby will require special care during her pregnancy to prevent or manage any issues that may arise. Sunnybrook is home to Canada’s first and largest specialized clinic for multiple births. Our highly trained team delivers approximately 200 twins or triplets each year. As an academic health sciences centre, we are committed to improving care for multiples, which are considered high-risk pregnancies.

Potential risks increase with each additional fetus within the multiple birth pregnancy, so the need for frequent, intensive, prenatal care is of the utmost importance. Because of this, Sunnybrook has a health care team of medical professionals with extensive experience delivering multiples. The clinic values family-centred care, informed decision-making and respect for individual choices.

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Our vision

Our vision is to become an internationally-recognized centre for the conduct of the following:

Practice-changing research

Dissemination of knowledge to women and health-care providers

Education of the future generation of researchers and clinicians in the field of twin pregnancies

Our goals

The Twins Research Centre includes a multidisciplinary team of research staff, clinicians, trainees, and patient’s advocators who will work together to meet our vision and goals, and improve the outcome of twin infants and their mothers.

Our goals include

- Establish a core research and knowledge dissemination team: This team will centralize, direct, and provide support to the research and educational activities of the centre. The team will consist of an epidemiologist/statistician, grant writer and project manager.
- Promote research on twin pregnancies:
  - Conduct large-scale and practice changing research on twin pregnancies involving multiple research modalities including epidemiological studies, basic science studies, studies on maternal physiology in twin pregnancies, imaging-based studies including ultrasound and MRI, and prospective multicentre interventional studies.
  - Provide support for research grant applications to national and international research funding agencies.
  - Develop the new generation of researchers in the field of twins by engaging, guiding, and supporting students, residents, fellows, and young investigators in twin’s research.
  - Facilitate linkage of national databases to create a comprehensive national database of twin pregnancies that will make it possible to study twin pregnancies from the time of conception, through pregnancy, and until late developmental stage.
  - Promote international collaboration with other investigators in the field of twins around the world.
- Enrich capacity of care providers to improve quality of care for women with twin pregnancies through outreach and knowledge dissemination.
- Empower and enhance knowledge of women with twin pregnancies and their families.

The Waugh Family Foundation

Thank you to the Waugh Family Foundation for their generous support of the Sunnybrook Twin Research Centre.

About Sunnybrook’s DAN Women & Babies Program

Sunnybrook’s DAN Women & Babies Program is recognized as a world leader in improving outcomes for the sickest and most vulnerable mothers and babies. The program delivers approximately 4,000 babies a year, with one-quarter being high-risk deliveries needing specialized care. Sunnybrook’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) cares for the province’s tiniest patients, with 20 per cent of Ontario infants weighing less than three pounds coming to Sunnybrook.

The DAN Women & Babies Program is also a world-renowned academic centre specializing in research that is pushing the envelope of what’s possible in patient care. With a highly skilled team of care providers and state-of-the-art facilities, the program is uniquely positioned to advance research in caring for the tiniest patients and their families.

The program’s integration of multidisciplinary care, research, and evidence has enabled Sunnybrook to conduct practice-changing research and provide the best clinical care to the smallest babies, including “micro-preemies.” Micro-preemies are born from 22 to 25 weeks and weigh 500 to 800 grams at birth.