Ten twins deliver five times the joy
Visitors to North Shore Hospital might be forgiven for thinking they are seeing double.
Five sets of same-gender twins were born at the hospital in Auckland, all within a few days of each other. Two sets arrived on the same morning Emirates New Zealand raced to America’s Cup victory in Bermuda.
Twins are a relative rarity so having five sets on the ward, all at one time, was something of a novelty, said Waitemata District Health Board obstetrician Adele Barr.
‘‘Just two per cent of all live births in New Zealand are twins and there is always a high level of excitement when we have them on the ward,’’ Barr said.
The quintuple sets of twins, and their parents, were from around Auckland.
Taymon and Niko were born to Cliff and Hazel Oxford from Stillwater.
From the North Shore, Elsa and Elva were born to Summer and Yue Zhao from Albany; Emily and Annabelle were born to Matthew and Carla Pearce from Torbay; and Franco and Marco were born to Anna and Lourens Pretorius from Bayview.
From West Auckland, Ezekiel and Nehemiah were born to Helen and Apolosi Kaliopasi from Kelston.
A total of 4114 babies were born at the North Shore Hospital between July 1, 2016 and June 28, 2017. They included 81 sets of twins and one set of triplets.
Staff at Waitakere Hospital
‘‘To have five sets at once was certainly a talking point.’’
delivered 2805 babies in the same period, including 14 sets of twins.
Meanwhile, North Shore Hospital was on the lookout for friendly, caring volunteers of varying ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds.
‘‘Hospitals can be stressful places and our volunteers can often make the experience a little easier for people to deal with,’’ volunteer coordinator Genevieve Kabuya said.
‘‘To be greeted with a warm smile and escorted to wherever you’re going - or to be comforted with a listening ear or a cup of tea can make a big difference.’’
Volunteers were needed to meet and greet patients and visitors, provide help on wards such as making beverages and comforting patients, plus looking for any health and safety concerns.
Kabuya said any form of time commitment would be appreciated.
Contact her on 021 544 862 for more information.