When Libby Kalikstein (29) from Jerusalem arrived at Shaare Zedek Hospital last Monday morning to give birth to her fifth son, she had no idea that at the same time, her younger sister, Paari Ringer (22) from Jerusalem, was also going into labor.
"I had a feeling that we would end up giving birth together," said Ringer, who was supposed to give birth to her second son only ten days after her older sister.
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Shlomit Pearl with sisters Paari Ringer and Libby Kalikstein
(Photo: Shaare Zedek Hospital)
While Ringer was preparing to enter the delivery room, she received the exciting news that Libby had just given birth. About five hours later, Ringer also gave birth to her son.
When midwife Shlomit Pearl asked Ringer if she wanted to have the baby sleep in her room throughout the entirety of her hospital stay, Ringer requested to placed be in the same room as her sister, surprising the mid-wife who had no idea about the family relations of her two deliveries.
Pearl, a resident of the West Bank settlement Alon Shvut, is a senior midwife with 28 years of experience. She herself is a mother to five children whose babies she delivered, as well as those of her nieces, sisters-in-law, and cousins, at Shaare Zedek.
"In all my 28 years of delivering babies, I have never been so touched. Only after Paari's delivery was over, and she asked me to put her in the same room as her sister, I realized that five hours earlier I had partaken in her sister's birth. I am thrilled to be part of this joyful family story and I wish the two adorable babies and their families a happy and healthy life," said Pearl.
"We joked that maybe we'll make it into the newspaper if we give birth together because it truly is a special story. We didn't plan it, and neither of us knew about the other's condition, but in the end, we found ourselves sharing a room with two newborns, Kalikstein said.