No Clarity on Parity After Twin Birth: A Clinical Survey of Maternity Care Providers.

Abstract

Parity describes a key component of a woman's reproductive history. It constitutes an essential part of clinical handover between maternity care providers. Despite this, there is no consensus on how parity should be defined after twin birth. We surveyed 93 midwives and doctors of various specialties working in a regional obstetric unit in Queensland, Australia. 62.4% of respondents defined parity as two after twin birth; the remainder defined it as one. Differences in the interpretation of parity may cause inter-clinician miscommunication and patient harm. We call upon Australian national bodies to publish a consensus definition of parity in relation to twin birth.