'Closer now than ever': Akron sisters celebrate giving birth on same day, in same house

For McKayla Kennard, the connection between her and her younger sister, Adrianna Kennard, has always been strong, but their children will now be forever linked as well as they share both the same birthday and birthplace.

"I think we are honestly closer right now than ever, but we've always been close," McKayla said. "We obviously grew up together but when I moved out, she moved in with me for a little while, and as we've grown as adults and experienced pregnancy together, our relationship has only gotten stronger."

McKayla and Adrianna gave birth hours apart at McKayla's Akron home last month − utilizing the same birthing pool in her dining room.

"We had been saying the whole time that we would be having 'cousin twins' and give birth on the same day, all while knowing we don't have any control over this," McKayla said. "Our grandmother passed away from COVID in 2021 and we just told ourselves that this was all possible because of her."

Sisters found out they were pregnant on the same day

The sisters found out they were pregnant the same day, on Oct. 19, 2023. While McKayla and her husband had been trying for their third child, Adrianna's pregnancy came as a complete surprise. McKayla was four weeks pregnant at the time while Adrianna was six weeks along.

"I had been trying to get pregnant so I took a pregnancy test first and then she ended up taking a pregnancy test after me because she hadn't been feeling well and she was not expecting it to be positive, but it was, and then she called me and we were just excited," McKayla said.

McKayla, a home birth midwife, always planned to have her latest child at home after her firstborn, 4-year-old Korah, was born in the hospital, and her second child, 1-year-old Kinsley, was born at home. Adrianna originally entertained the thought of giving birth at home, too, before deciding the hospital may be best, McKayla said.

"My sister actually hired my mentor midwife as her midwife for a home birth, but she was nervous and decided she wanted to give birth at a hospital just because this is her first child," McKayla said. "She was fully planning on going to the hospital."

While Adrianna had her prenatal appointments at her obstetrician's office, McKayla performed her own prenatal care at home. "We both had really easy pregnancies. There were no complications; everyone was happy and healthy," McKayla said.

'I'm just going to give birth at your house'

The lifelong Summit County residents hoped they would give birth the same day but knew the possibility of such an event was remote. So when McKayla's water broke at 4:05 a.m. June 18 and her son, Kash Shane Mason, was born about an hour later, she didn't think her niece would arrive the same day, let alone in her dining room.

"It was crazy because the night before we were doing workouts together to go into labor, just doing squats together on FaceTime and joking about going into labor on the same day," McKayla said. "I woke up to my water leaking, and Adrianna and I were texting and on FaceTime during my labor, and my mom held the phone up so she could see me give birth."

Mark Mason, McKayla's fiancé, also was present during her labor and birth.

Shortly after Kash was born, Adrianna began to experience contractions and cramping and eventually went to the hospital, thinking her baby might also be on her way.

The doctors told Adrianna she had enough time before she gave birth and advised her to head home before coming back to the hospital. She decided she was uncomfortable at the hospital and wanted to give birth at her sister's house instead.

"I was four hours postpartum and she just calls me and said, 'Hey, I'm just going to give birth at your house,'" McKayla said. "My mentor had come over to help and clean and she already had the pool drained and the liner removed, so when my sister called I just put a new liner in and started filling it with water."

Adrianna arrived at McKayla's house around 10 a.m. experiencing intense contractions. She used her sister's birthing pool to deliver her daughter, Rylan Alaina Kaltwasser, just over three hours later at 1:15 p.m. She was surrounded by family during the birth, including her boyfriend, Dustin Kaltwasser.

"I am very grateful that my sister was so open and willing to allow me into her home and very early postpartum space to give birth," Adrianna said. "I am also grateful that our babies will grow up so close and have such a crazy story to tell about their birth. I think we were both in disbelief that we were actually having our babies on the same day, but we were filled with joy when it happened.”

Home births on the rise in the U.S.

McKayla and Adrianna are just two of thousands of American women who have turned to delivering their babies at home. Home births rose 12% from 2020 to 2021, the highest level since 1990, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

This increase follows a 19% increase in home births from 2019 (38,506) to 2020 (45,646).

Home births, however, still remain rare, accounting for less than 2% of all U.S. births.

McKayla, a self-described advocate for home birth, believes that women who have any doubts about feeling comfortable in the hospital during childbirth need to follow their intuition and give home birth a try.

"Humans give birth best in a comfortable location. Our bodies naturally produce pain inhibitors and when you're somewhere where you're not comfortable, those pain inhibitors are not as potent," McKayla said. "If you're considering home birth, definitely look into it more, do some research, and if it's what you want, don't let anybody try to change your mind."

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'Closer now than ever': Akron sisters celebrate giving birth on same day, in same house