South Texas Health System welcome Christmas babies in McAllen, Edinburg

Three families received extra special gifts this Christmas.

Four babies were delivered at South Texas Health System’s maternity centers Wednesday, with officials noting that fewer babies are born on the holiday than on any other day of the year. 

“Since doctors rarely schedule C-sections on public holidays or weekends, and about one in three American babies are born by C-section, there are 30-40% fewer babies born on December 25 than on the most popular day of the year,” STHS officials said in a news release. 

That statistic, coupled with the fact that their estimated date of delivery was for Jan. 6, marked the extra special arrival of the Mercado twins. 

Weighing in at 5 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 19-inches long, Pia Fernanda was delivered through C-section at 8 a.m. Wednesday at STHS McAllen. Her brother Noel arrived a minute later, weighing in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces and measuring 17.5-inches long. 

The twins were estimated to arrive on Jan. 6, or Three Kings Day — a popular Christian holiday celebrated in many Hispanic and Latin American cultures — but their mother believed they’d be born on another holy day, the release stated. 

“I had a feeling that they would arrive on Christmas Day, I don’t know why,” Tania Perez, the mother of the twins, said in the release.. “But that’s not all… From the beginning, their father liked the name Noel for the boy. After investigating the name, we discovered it meant of, or born on Christmas. So, it’s a very big coincidence that they were born on this day. It’s our Christmas gift!”

Less than 30 minutes after Pia Fernanda and Noel’s arrival, STHS McAllen welcomed a third Christmas baby. 

Luz Gomez raced to the hospital overnight after her water broke during the family’s Noche Buena celebrations, which led to Daniela’s birth at 8:26 a.m. She came into the world weighing in at 5 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 19-inches long. 

Lastly, Khalessi was delivered at 11:19 a.m. at the Maternity Center at STHS Edinburg, weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and measuring 21-inches long. 

Yukari and Edgar Mendez, Khalessi’s parents, called her arrival a “little Christmas miracle,” officials said in the release.

“STHS staff members are overjoyed to be spending Christmas Day with the four Christmas babies and their families,” the release stated. “The staff at STHS McAllen and STHS Edinburg have gone the extra mile to make the day extra special for them with special holiday-themed gifts, including a Baby’s First Christmas onesie and a gift certificate for a massage for each of the moms donated by Spa La Posada.”

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