Woman Learned She Was Pregnant After ‘Giving Up.’ Then She and Her Twin Gave Birth on the Same Day

Identical twins Rachel Schmidtberger and Lindsey Denny are used to being in sync.

The 37-year-old sisters, both dermatologists in Texas, gave birth last week just 12 hours apart.

They welcomed their sons on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

The twins have shared many milestones in their lives — including attending the University of Texas for both undergrad and medical school — but even they were surprised by their nearly simultaneous deliveries.

Schmidtberger and Denny had the same due date of Monday, Sept. 1. Schmidtberger was scheduled for an induction a few days earlier, while Denny planned hers two days later.

Schmidtberger went into labor at the hospital as planned, while Denny was taking care of Schmidtberger’s daughter when her water broke — a moment her sister actually caught on a home camera.

Dr. Sharon Vila Wright rearranged her on-call schedule so she could deliver both babies on the same day.

The twins’ sons, Hayes and Owen, even share a middle name, Michael.

Because their mothers are identical twins, the boys are genetically half-siblings as well. The family jokingly calls them “brother cousins.”

Denny learned she was pregnant around Christmas after struggling with fertility and feeling like she might have to “give up” on having a baby, according to NBC affiliate KPRC.

The births were bittersweet, though, as Schmidtberger’s mother-in-law had recently passed away due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

While initially surprised by the timing, Dr. Wright told KPRC that the sisters embraced the chaos as part of their “twin connection.”

In 2022, identical twins Jill Justiniani and Erin Cheplak similarly welcomed their sons on the same day in California. Justiniani told PEOPLE at the time, “It just feels like it was supposed to be. It is a little surprising because what are the odds? But it’s like, of course, this would happen to us.”