Twins born minutes apart - in different years

Joaquin and Aitana de Jesus Ontiveros will celebrate their birthdays in separate years

A pair of Californian twins have made the news by being born in different years despite being delivered mere minutes apart.

Anyone who’s a younger twin can understand the frustration of being born only a few minutes after their sibling, with the elder of two lording over the fact for their whole lives.

Nonetheless, not many will be able to empathise with being born in an entirely new year.

When Maria Esperanza Flores Rios went into labour on New Year’s Eve at 7pm, she probably wasn’t expecting the surprise that was coming her way.

However, when Joaquin was delivered at 11.58pm on December 31, she and her husband Joaquin suspected that there was a possibility that their twins would be celebrating separate birthdays.

Aitana was subsequently born at 12.16am on January 1 at the Delano Regional Medical Centre.

Maria was originally due on January 27 and then was scheduled for a caesarean on January 10.

It was therefore quite a shock when she went into labour on New Year’s Eve.

After seeing out 2017 with the birth of her son, Maria then had to undergo a c-section for the second baby as her daughter was slightly breached.

Both babies were born safely and soundly and have already achieved global fame only a day after entering the world.

The staff at the Delano Regional Medical Centre even took a group photo with the happy family to mark the special occasion.

Delano Regional Medical Centre has stated that Joaquin was the last baby born in Kern County in 2017, with his younger sister Aitana named the first baby born in Kern County in 2018.

Maria and her husband Joaquin, both farm labourers, have three other daughters ranging in ages from 18 years old to six.

According to Louise Firth Campbell and Amram Shapiro, co-authors of The Book of Odds, the odds of twins being born in different years are around one in 60,000.