Birthday once every four years

"The first baby was a boy, and he was born a little bit after 3:00 a.m., on the unique date of February 29 - a date that only occurs once every four years," said Orna Greenberg, Head Nurse in Obstetrics at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, happily. "Following him, two girls and a boy came into the world, all to mothers who live in the area - Hadera, Pardes Hanna, Karkur and Fureidis."

Dr. Haim David, Director of the Delivery Room at Hillel Yaffe, said that women scheduled for elective cesareans are still expected to arrive. In other words, surgery scheduled for a specific date in advance for a variety of medical reasons. "They weren't all happy about the idea of giving birth on a date that means they will only be able to celebrate their child's birthday once every four years," he said. "However, what's important to them, and especially to us, the staff, is that everything goes well. A unique date is always nice, and while it may be less attractive to some of them, as far as we're concerned, the health of the expectant mother and the baby are what is most important. So, if the medical indication requires delivery via C-section, we will do so on the date that is medically optimal."

Shelly Abergil Ben David, from Pardes Hanna, who had her fourth child (a girl), said that the unique date was definitely not something they had planned. "The due date was March 7th. But the little one decided to come early. I'm happy that all went well, and I think the date itself is nice. I hope that she'll think so too when she gets older."

Likewise, Souhila Mara'ana from Fureidis, who just had her fifth child (a boy) does not think the date is important. "He was born two weeks before my due date, which was March 14, 2016, but what's important is that he's healthy," she said.

One thing is for sure. All of the mothers agree: The date isn't important, what's important is that the birth went well and the babies were born healthy. The Maternity Division staff at Hillel Yaffe agrees and wishes them all congratulations and happy birthday, today and every four years from now on.

Born on February 29th. Photo: Rafi Koren