In 1969 children of a multiple birth in the GDR made up 1.9% of livebirths and 15.3% of early neonatal deaths. The early neonatal mortality rate of children from a multiple birth was 95.7‰, that of all live-births 12.4‰. The cause was the low birth weight of children from a multiple birth (56.2% vs. 5.8% of all livebirths). Their low birth weight is the result of a hypotrophic development caused by malnutrition. The loss of children from a multiple birth (stillbirths, early neonatal and postneonatal deaths) was 143‰. International experience has shown that such heavy losses can be largely prevented by bed rest of the woman with a multiple pregnancy. We therefore strongly recommend early diagnosis and early in-patient care of women with multiple pregnancy.