The neonatal ICU team at an Ohio hospital faced a unique challenge when seven sets of twins were born within a few days of each other.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 11, the Cleveland Clinic’s Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights shared that their NICU and postpartum units have been bustling with activity due to the recent surge in twin births.
“We’ve been experiencing double the joy caring for 7 sets of newborn twins simultaneously,” the hospital wrote. “Some parents are welcoming their first babies, while others, like Jason and Kara, are expanding their family of seven!” The post featured photos of the couple with their newborns and several other twin sets, wishing all the families well.
Nurses Karoline Ferencak and Halle Wedler told ABC affiliate News 5 Cleveland that while they are accustomed to handling many babies, the 14 newborns this week have been a unique experience.
“How are we going to manage them all?” Ferencak recalled asking as more twins arrived. “It was like ‘boom, boom, boom.'” Wedler added, “We had a great team, a solid plan, and we executed it smoothly, delivering all the babies efficiently.”
Among the twins born, only one set was a boy and girl; the rest were either both boys or both girls. New mom Shannon Holz from Shaker Heights, Ohio, welcomed the only mixed-gender twins, a boy and a girl, News 5 reported.
“We never expected to have twins,” Holz shared. “It’s a blessing, and we are very happy to have two healthy babies.”
Despite the influx of 14 twins, Hillcrest Hospital’s staff had previously managed nine sets of twins at once, they told FOX 8.
“We like to say, ‘Not double the work, double the fun.’ The workload has been manageable,” nurse Jessica Cunningham told the outlet.
“We hold a NICU reunion every year, and it would be amazing if all these families came back to see how much the twins have grown,” Cunningham added. “This is truly a rare occurrence.”