Meet All 6 Sets of Twins Born at a Missouri Hospital This Week

You're not seeing double.

ByABC News
January 15, 2015, 2:55 PM

— -- The maternity and neonatal intensive care unit at Saint Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is twice as busy as usual this week caring for six sets of twins.

PHOTO: Noah and Kacie (top left); Peyton and Brooke (top middle); Sophia and Delia (top right); Kaylee and Kira (bottom left);Tyler and Aaron (bottom middle); Merrick and Lennon (bottom right)
Noah and Kacie (top left); Peyton and Brooke (top middle); Sophia and Delia (top right); Kaylee and Kira (bottom left);Tyler and Aaron (bottom middle); Merrick and Lennon (bottom right)

The twin babies range from 2 to 30 days old and all are doing well, said Brenda Cornell, a clinical nurse manager for the hospital. She said the staff is enjoying the unusual situation.

PHOTO: Sophia and Delia born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Sophia and Delia born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

“This is the first time we’ve ever had this many sets of twins in our hospital at the same time,” Cornell said.

The timing of the twins' arrival is a coincidence and the result of some early and unexpected deliveries.

PHOTO: Peyton and Brooke born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Peyton and Brooke born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Twin births everywhere are on the rise. Prior to 1980, one in 50 babies born was a twin, amounting to about two percent of births, according to National Center for Health Statistics. Twins now account for one in 30 babies, or 3.5 percent of births.

PHOTO: Noah and Kacie born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Noah and Kacie born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked into where all those extra sets of doubles are coming from, they found that women are waiting longer to get pregnant, and older women are more likely to give birth to multiples. The rest of the spike can be attributed to the increased use of infertility treatments, the CDC report found.

PHOTO: Kaylee and Kira born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Kaylee and Kira born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Cornell noted that none of the hospital’s simultaneous twins were the result of infertility treatments. And, she said, there are probably more to come.

“Moms carrying twins from all over the community heard about this and now want to come here to deliver,” she said.

PHOTO: Tyler and Aaron born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Tyler and Aaron born at Saint Luke's East Hospital in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

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