'I gave birth to triplets and it pushed me to the brink of bankruptcy'

When Monique Bertrand found out she was carrying triplets at eight weeks pregnant, she had no idea the unexpected arrivals would push her family to the brink of bankruptcy.

New research has found families with twins or triplets face at least a £20,000 financial hit in the first year after birth, compared with those who have two babies in succession.

Having been told she could never carry children, Monique had been considering foster care when she unexpectedly fell pregnant - but a bigger surprise was in store when she found out she had naturally conceived triplets.

After a difficult pregnancy, at 31 weeks and surrounded by a team of 35 doctors, nurses and midwives, she gave birth to Macho and Lylah, weighing a tiny 2lb 8oz, and Trinity, weighing just 2lb 1oz.

Research, commissioned by the charity Twins Trust and carried out by Per Capita, found raising multiples is more difficult in the UK than in almost any other advanced OECD economy, due to the lack of additional support.

"Triplet mums just need extra hands," said Monique, 39, from Lewisham, southeast London.

The triplets spent 50 days in the hospital (Monique herself was admitted for 34 days) and by the time they returned home, her partner had already used up his two weeks of paternity leave. With him working lengthy night shifts, she was left to care for three infants alone.

"I felt I could not do it. I felt I wanted to run away. There was no support in any way," she said.

"I wish the government realised there is a huge difference between having multiples and having singletons."

Families of twins and triplets experience a 15% decline in household income (around £12,500), with 72% having to buy a new car to accommodate their children, according to the research. Twins and triplets are often born premature, requiring families to take more time off work to care for their children.

"People don't realise, I have to pay for everything three times," said Monique, who works as an assistant director of education. "A £20 baby outfit, for me that costs £60. We go through nappies like they are tap water, formula... the costs just mount up.

"There is no passing things down between children, you have to have everything at once. It almost bankrupted us."

She said she knew of some multiple mums who had to give cow's milk to their children early, simply because they could not afford the cost of formula.

Families she had previously supported would send Monique clothes, food, formula and baby items to help the family survive.

"The doorbell would ring, and it would be Amazon delivering three high chairs," she said.

'I had to work while my twins were in hospital'

When Frank Fallon and Frankie Wakefield's twins, Ezra and Theo, arrived a day before their wedding, it was just the latest surprise of an unexpected pregnancy.

The couple had gone through IVF but only implanted one embryo, to try to mitigate the risk of multiples - but their eight-week scan showed two healthy heartbeats.

Born three months early, Frank had to continue working while the twins spent seven weeks in hospital, to avoid using up all his paternity leave.

"I would go visit them at 6am before work and we had to rely on friends and family to drive Frankie to hospital to see them," he said.

Now the twins are energetic two-year-olds, and the couple are finally having their much-delayed wedding on Saturday, but they are calling for more support for multiple families.

"Everything just adds up," said Frank. "Extra nappies [the family orders approximately 240 every four to six weeks], high energy bills because they are having more baths.

"I think I am at Tesco every day because they now go through litres of milk."

He added: "Even children's classes that Frankie goes to so she can socialise, you have to pay double for the extra baby."

'Childcare would have cost £5k a month'

Almost 90% of the 1,800 families surveyed said current childcare provisions are inadequate.

As Monique prepared to return to work, she sat down and wrote her resignation letter, after realising the cost of childcare for her triplets would be more than £5,000 a month.

"It broke my heart because I have never not worked," she said.

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On learning this, her family held a meeting, volunteering to look after the children on different days so she could return to work. Now the twins are 21 months old, she qualifies for 15 hours free childcare, but the bill still stands at £3,500 a month, and she relies heavily on her family to help.

At one point, Frank considered putting his children in on different days, to try and lower the cost of their £4,000 a month childcare bill.

"We are lucky we have both been promoted, but in our old jobs we would never have been able to afford it," he said.

The Twins Trust report is calling for maternity pay to be allocated per baby, rather than per pregnancy, as well as an expansion of the Sure Start Maternity Grant and additional mental health support for families of multiples.

Shauna Leven, chief executive of Twins Trust, said: "This report lays bare the grim reality facing families with multiples - the financial burden, mental health toll and lack of support.

"Raising multiples is harder in the UK than almost any other nation. We will continue to campaign tirelessly to tackle the issues highlighted here, so our families can access the support they desperately need and deserve.

"With one set of multiples born every hour across the UK, it's critical that our society steps up and provides adequate support, rather than sending our families to the back of the queue."