Sisters Give Birth Same Time, Same Place at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital

Sisters Give Birth Same Time, Same Place at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital

TAMPA, Fla. (March 9, 2016) – Sisters Sarah Hittmeier and Crystal Wingate knew each other was expecting because they live almost next door to each other on the Wingate family farm in Dover, FL.  They even knew that their delivery dates were close; in fact, they were scheduled to be induced within days of each other.  Their baby boys had other plans.  Both women went into spontaneous labor on March 8, 2016.

Hittmeier and Wingate began texting each other as they were on their way to St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital.  When they arrived at Labor and Delivery, they were placed in adjacent rooms.  “It was a race,” their aunt, Gina Bailey, quipped.

Hittmeier’s son, Liam, won.  He was born 13 minutes before his cousin, baby Wyatt, came into the world.  After delivery, the sisters and their newborns were wheeled out together to adjacent rooms on the Mother/Baby floor.

“The nurses handled it all,” said Deputy Royce Wingate, Wyatt’s dad.  “They were awesome.  That’s why we picked St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital.  They take care of us.”

The sisters have delivered all of their babies at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital.  Hittmeier has two other children, ages 4 and 2, with her husband, Alex Santiago.  The Wingates have three other children, ages 6, 4 and 3.

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About St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital

St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, part of the BayCare Health System, offers complete obstetrical, perinatal, surgical, gynecological and oncological services. Only St. Joseph's Women's Hospital offers the Shimberg Breast Center, where women can receive the most advanced testing and treatment available. Due to its comfortable Labor and Delivery suites, extensive childbirth programs, Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Maternal/Fetal program, St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital is widely regarded as the place in Tampa to have a baby and delivers more babies than any other facility in the Tampa Bay region.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 14 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.