Email
Print
Area hospital delivers four sets of twins in three days
Between Monday and Wednesday, Lake Norman Region Medical Center delivered four sets of twins to their parents. The twins and their parents are (from left) Gary and Mandy Ernst with Macy and Makayla; Tyson and Misti Claggett with their new arrivals Ace and Gianna; Jose and Juanita Garza and their sons Leonardo-Jeaziel and Julian Alejandro; and Scott and Jennifer Hardy with Nicholas and Sophia.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: August 15, 2009
Scott Hardy raced home Sunday to make an important appointment.
The NASCAR official's wife, Jennifer, was scheduled for admission to Lake Norman Regional Medical Center to give birth to their twins on Monday.
The Hardy twins, Sophia and Nicholas, were the first of four sets of twins to be born at LNRMC between Monday and Wednesday.
Three of the couples, including the Hardys, used in vitro fertilization to become pregnant. Hardy said the couple decided to give the procedure another shot after the first one didn't work out.
"It was the last try and we got lucky," he said.
It is the second time this year hospitals in Iredell County have reported delivering multiple sets of twins within a week's time.
In early May, five sets of twins were born in the span of seven days at Iredell Memorial Hospital, Davis Regional Medical Center and LNRMC.
Two of these hospitals reported their birth rates went up in 2008. Multiples have contributed to this growth, they said.
Local numbers buck a national trend. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported a 1.5 percent decrease from the 4.3 million babies born in 2007 to the 4.2 million in 2008.
At Iredell Memorial, the number of live births increased from 880 in 2007 to 940 in 2008.
At LNRMC, births were up from 1,039 in 2007 to 1,065 in 2008. Women's Services director Marie Marks expects to exceed 2008's total this year.
Iredell Memorial Birth Place Director Sharon Johnson said Iredell Memorial expects a drop in live births this year following the departure of one of the obstetricians who practices there.
"They really haven't decreased that much," she said.
In July, The Birth Place at Iredell Memorial delivered 90 babies, which is considered a good month, Johnson said.
However, Johnson said births could start slowing down around this month.
People started to get hit hard by the economic decline back in November and December, she said. Couples who planned their pregnancies might have decided to put the addition to their family on hold until the economy improved, she said.
However, the group of new parents at LNRMC on Thursday seemed ready to tackle the challenge of taking care of two babies simultaneously.
New mother Misti Claggett said her twins, Gianna and Ace, were born just a few days before her own birthday.
"This is the best birthday present that I could ever have," she said.
Her family has a history of twins, including her mother.
Claggett's husband, Tyson, said he was surprised how different each set of twins were in size.
The Hardy twins were bigger than Leonardo and Julian Garza, who were born Wednesday.
The boys parents, Jose and Juanita, decided to try for their second child after relocating from Chicago to Mooresville a couple years ago.
"Being down here, our family didn't look as big as it did with all the cousins," Jose said. "My son is seven years old right now. We wanted to be a family."
The couple decided to go through the in vitro fertilization process with Dr. Mark Jutras in Huntersville. Garza said they were trying for one child, but knew that multiples could be a possibility.
So far, Leonardo smiles more and Julian has a bigger appetite.
"We are very excited," Jose said. "We needed them in our family."
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
