Twin mum Elise Devenny says her experience of parenthood has been magical, but gruelling and lonely.
Her pregnancy with her now seven-month-old boys was fraught with illness and complications, leading her to stop working at 31 weeks before they arrived prematurely soon after.
After a stay in a neonatal intensive care unit, Ms Devenny and her husband Shay were able to bring their sons home, where the challenges continued.
"Shay had to use so much sick and annual leave when I was pregnant, so he had to go back to work earlier than planned after they were born," Ms Devenny told AAP.
"He would have to leave for work and I would just cry ... when you don't have enough hands to help both your babies who are crying at once it's really soul-crushing."
Facing financial pressure, the family is considering downsizing alongside Ms Devenny returning to work earlier than planned.
"We're still waking up multiple times at night, fatigue is high," she said.
"I'm facing having to go back to work while still pumping and calculating the cost and availability of childcare for two babies.
"It's been pure survival up until this point and we're really deep in the how-do-we-make-this-financially-work conversations."
Australia is ranked second last out of more than 47 OECD countries when it comes to support for additional multiple-birth families.
Families with multiple births are currently treated identically to those with singletons despite facing higher costs and health risks.
The Australian Multiple Birth Association wants the government to allocate about $191 million annually to address the inequity.
The investment would cover a support scheme of up-front and ongoing payments for twins, triplet and quadruplets, as families with twins are excluded from current schemes.
It would also fund parental leave per baby, an in-home support program and a 2000-day support plan.
Twins cost up to five times more than singletons, while triplets can be up to 13 times more, twin mum and association board director Laura Wilson said.
Parents of multiples also face increased risk of postnatal depression and exhaustion which comes at a huge personal cost, she said.
A board survey of more than 1100 families found existing support insufficient, with a vast majority not receiving government payments they were eligible for.
More than 60 per cent of mothers pregnant with multiples had to finish work earlier than planned and 70 per cent of parents experienced financial difficulty in pregnancy and for the first two years after birth.
Many federal MPs are multiple birth parents, including Communications Minister Anika Wells, assistant health minister Ged Kearney and South Australian Labor MP Lousie Miller-Frost.
A parliamentary friends group of multiple births was launched in March to coincide with Multiple Birth Awareness Week.
Ms Wilson called on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to listen to lived experiences when considering measures for the upcoming budget, due to be handed down on May 12.
"Multiples parents often feel isolated and unsupported ... they need to be recognised for the unique challenges they face," she said.
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