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(From left) Ivy Chichester and Shauna Wheeler holding their newborn babies. Today
Shauna Wheeler and Ivy Chichester, two best friends from Virginia who both became pregnant at the same time, gave birth to their babies at the same hospital two days apart.
While talking to a media outlet, Chichester said that her pregnancy wasn’t planned and she had many “mixed emotions” about the prospect of having another child. She said Wheeler advised her to “give it a couple days” and “don’t worry yourself out.”
Chichester informed her “mom tribe” of her pregnancy a week after discovering she was pregnant. Chichester was however unaware that Wheeler thought she might be expecting a child as well.
“It prompted me to go directly home and test,” Wheeler disclosed. “Sure enough, I was. That line was the pinkest I’ve ever seen it — it was prominent.”
Wheeler informed Chichester that she was expecting after confirming her own pregnancy. “The fact that we’re doing this together, hopefully, can help both of us with our worries about being pregnant,” Wheeler said. “I told her: “I know that you’re apprehensive about it.”
Chichester was scared about the prospect of having another kid, while Wheeler was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to carry a safe pregnancy to term because she had a miscarriage with her first child.
“It was just so nice to truly have a judgment-free zone where I could talk about whatever I was feeling and have that mental and emotional support from my village,” Chichester recalled. “Those conversations helped me through the struggles, and because Shauna was pregnant we could support each other on a slightly bigger level because we were both going through it at the same time.”
Wheeler was scheduled for a C-section on December 13, 2022, while Chichester was due for vaginal delivery in the first few days of December. Wheeler claimed that during a normal check-up in the first week of December, her blood pressure was elevated and her doctor expressed concern. .LeNhung
Wheeler was transferred to labor and delivery for observation rather than being discharged home, and her due date was moved up to December 5, 2022. Wheeler then informed her friend that she would deliver her child earlier than anticipated.
“I had my baby at 3:41 p.m. on 12/5,” Wheeler says. “The next day I was recovering and Ivy was supposed to come visit. A couple hours later, Ivy called and said: “I’m at the hospital!” My husband said: “They said she can’t visit.” I said: “Um, she’s in labor.”