Karen Kerkhoff Gromada, MSN, RN, IBCLC, FILCA
As a mother of five now adult children, three “singletons” and a set of monozygotic (MZ or identical) twin boys, I’ve experienced how different the dynamic is when parenting multiples and singletons. But personal experience only goes so far. In addition, I’ve been part of a group providing ongoing breastfeeding and parenting support for parents of multiples for more than 40 years.
That group and several online groups prevent me from forgetting the intense early weeks, months and years of parenting multiple-birth children! The book I wrote, Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More, is the result of these thousands of parents’ collective “in person” and online experiences. I am also co-author of the first two editions of Keys to Parenting Multiples (Barrons). (Mothering Multiples is currently being revised, and the 2007 most recent edition is now out of print.
In addition to guiding our five children to adulthood, I hold a Master of Science of Nursing (MSN) in mental health nursing. I have worked in labor and delivery, childbirth education and early postpartum discharge care. Certified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant since 1991, I have experience both as a private, community-based IBCLC as well as one on hospital parent-baby units. I am currently pursuing a certification in hypnotherapy.