In Northwest Indiana, Franciscan Health says the arrival of Leap Day babies at their Family Birth Centers in Crown Point, Dyer, and Michigan City included a family with a baby and great-grandfather born on Leap Day. The chances of being born on a Leap Day, February 29, are only one in 1,461 or .068%, as Leap Year comes only once every four years, said Franciscan Health. People born on Leap Day are referred to as “leaplings” or “leapers.” Worldwide, there are only about 5 million people with a February 29 birthday, representing less than .1% of the population. A news release from Franciscan Health said Carly Dobin of DeMotte gave birth to her daughter just after midnight Thursday and Carly’s late grandfather, Martin Kinney of Crown Point, was also a Leap Year baby.
Franciscan Health says Kinney, who passed away last February and would have been 96 yesterday, also made news with his birth when he was featured on the front page of the newspaper in Goshen, Indiana, the day he was born.
Leap Day babies were also born to parents from Lowell, Hammond, Michigan City, and Dyer, and Franciscan Health Family Birth Centers acknowledged the special birthdays with onesies and matching knitted frog hats for the babies.
Franciscan Alliance has Family Birth Centers in its local hospitals at Franciscan Health Crown Point, Franciscan Health Dyer, Franciscan Health Michigan City and Franciscan Health Olympia Fields. More information about Franciscan’s obstetric services and locations is available online .