twin babies
Sarah Biren
Sarah Biren
December 10, 2023 ·  4 min read

Identical Twin Sisters Give Birth To Sons On Same Day At The Same Hospital

Many siblings have close relationships but these twins shared the unbelievable experience of giving birth at the same time. Jalynne Crawford and Janelle Leopoldo each delivered a baby boy at the same Arizona hospital. They had C-sections two hours apart, conducted by the same doctor. Keep in mind, these aren’t first-time moms. This is Crawford’s fourth child and Leopoldo’s second child. 

Everyone always asks how we decided who got to go first,” Crawford said “Since my husband [professional baseball player Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants] only had a few days of paternity leave, Janelle offered me to go first so we would have a few extra hours with him. Also, I’m two minutes older and I found out I was pregnant four days earlier, so it made sense.”

Twins Sisters Realize They’re Pregnant Four Days Apart

Growing up, my twin sister and I talked about how neat it would be to get married together and have babies together,” Leopoldo said. “Well, the marriage part did not work out, but the baby thing sure did! I don’t think I ever imagined how special it would be until the journey began.” [1]

Unfortunately, getting pregnant wasn’t easy for either twin sister. Janelle Leopoldo was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal disorder that causes enlarged ovaries and small cysts, which makes pregnancy difficult. Additionally, Jalynne Crawford suffered from two miscarriages.

To make matters worse, the family was struck with tragedy when the twin’s sister Jennifer Pippin passed away last year. Struggling with grief and infertility, the twins continued to hope and pray for healthy babies. It seemed like their prayers were answered when they realized they were pregnant four days apart in 2018.

Twin sisters Jalynne Crawford and Janelle Leopoldo are pregnant at the same time
Photo credits: Jalynne Crawford

Read: Mom gives birth to 3 girls on the same day exactly 3 years apart

A Close-Knit Family

While becoming pregnant at the same time was a funny coincidence, it brought another issue. Leopoldo and Crawford live in different parts of the United States and their parents wouldn’t be able to be present for one of the births. Jalynne lives in Arizona with her husband Brandon Michael Crawford, and Janelle lives in California with her husband Jason Sergio Leopoldo. The couples met when they were all students and athletes at UCLA in 2005. (The twins were on gymnastics scholarships.) Despite the distance, the sisters meet up “about every three weeks” and their husbands are close friends as well.

Our family is extremely close and spend a lot of time together, but there is a difference with Jalynne and me. Our husbands joke, ‘If you marry one, you marry the other’ in the sense that we love being together so much and talking so much. We feel when we are apart, there is a piece of us missing. Our kids already feel this bond as well,” Leopoldo said.

Giving Birth on the Same Day

So the twins decided to give birth at the same time and place so their parents won’t miss anything. First, Crawford asked her doctor if this was even possible.

When we approached the doctor about having the babies on the same day, he said it was fine, they were the same gestational age and due within a week of one another,” Crawford said.

Twin sisters Jalynne Crawford and Janelle Leopoldo give birth on the same day in the same hospital
Photo credits: Jalynne Crawford

Read: Mother who didn’t know she was pregnant has twins

And so Leopoldo and her family moved to Arizona for six weeks before their due date. On June 18, the twins’ husbands and parents convened at the hospital. After both sisters delivered, they moved to recovery rooms next door to each other. “For the three days we were in the hospital we were in each other’s rooms all the time,” said Crawford.

Jalynne Crawford named her son Bryson Ryder and Leopoldo named her baby Jace Alan. The boys have already been dubbed the “twinousins.

After sharing this incredible experience, Crawford says that her family is complete with their four children. “I’m officially done.” However, Leopoldo’s family plans on continuing to grow. “I know she and her husband want four kids as well, so they’re not done,” said Crawford. [2]

Jalynne Crawford and Janelle Leopoldo and their spouses and children
Photo credits: Jalynne Crawford

Other Twins Who Gave Birth At The Same Time

What’s crazy is this isn’t the first time twins gave birth at the same time. In 2016, twin sisters Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers gave birth to each of their first children at the exact time in the sister’s respective time zone. Rodgers gave birth to a boy at 1:18 a.m. in Denver, Colorado, and Mariuz had her girl at 1:18 a.m. in La Jolla, California. [3].

Additionally, twins Danielle Grant and Kim Abraham gave birth to their sons on April 28, 2017, next door to each other in the same hospital. [4] In 2019, Lauren Kozelichki and Lisa Boyce also gave birth on the same day — and Kozelichki gave birth to twins herself! [5] And most recently, Kehinde Adedayo and Taiwo Aluko gave birth within 48 hours of each other in February 2021. Because of pandemic restrictions, many families are unable to be present during deliveries, but these sisters were able to be there for each other. [6]

Keep Reading: Photographer Gives Birth to Twins, One Dark-Skinned and the Other Albino, and They Are a Sight For Sore Eyes

Sources

  1. “Twin sisters give birth to sons on same day in same hospital.” GMA. Genevieve Shaw Brown. September 12, 2018
  2. “Identical Twin Sisters Give Birth to Sons on the Same Day at the Same Hospital.” People. Robyn Merrett. September 18, 2018
  3. “Identical twin sisters give birth on same day at exact same time.” Today. Rheana Murray. July 5, 2016
  4. “Twin sisters give birth to baby boys on same day in same hospital.ABC News. Eliza Murphy. May 3, 2017
  5. “Twin sisters give birth on same day with the same doctor (plus one had twins!).” GMA. Katie Kindelan. November 13, 2019
  6. “Identical Twin Sisters Give Birth at Fort Worth Hospital 48 Hours Apart.” NBC. February 10, 2021