(New Brunswick, NJ) - On February 29th in hospitals across the U.S., a special group of babies — children whose birthday is a quadrennial event — were welcomed.
The leap year and extra day (Leap Day) was instituted officially in 1582 with the Gregorian calendar (though it dates back to ancient Egyptian times) due to the amount of time it takes the earth to go around the sun, and as a measure to help keep the seasons occurring at the same time every year.
Odds of having a Leap Day birthday are estimated at about one in 1,500. Only about 200,000 people are born on February 29 in America, a pretty select group.
Baby Charles “Chaz” Gildersleeve Jr. is now part of that select group. He was born at 7:06 a.m. on Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital’s (RWJUH) Maternity Unit, weighing 9 lbs. 10 oz.
Chaz’s parents now face the age-old question for parents of babies born on February 29: should they celebrate their child's birthday once every four years, or twice every year on February 28 and March 1?
“He took his time with his arrival so we are just happy that he is here and want to celebrate,” said Christine Gildersleeve.
RWJUH delivers 2,500 babies annually in its designated Regional Perinatal Center, the highest level of maternal and neonatal care. RWJUH has been recognized by Healthgrades™ with an Excellence in Labor and Delivery Award and by Newsweek as a Best Maternity Care Hospital. In addition to state-of-the-art technology, RWJUH’s maternity center team includes nearly 50 board-certified obstetricians, five Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialists, a team of genetic counselors and nationally certified Magnet-recognized nurses. RWJUH is training the next generation of obstetricians through our residency program and MFM fellowship program with faculty at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.RWJUH is also home to a Level IV Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, with a team of board-certified neonatologists, nationally certified nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, speech and physical therapists, lactation consultants, nutritionists, and child life specialists. The maternity service is closely integrated with The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at RWJUH, working to get families off to a healthy start and keep on growing.
To learn more about comprehensive maternity services, visit www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick.
About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), an RWJBarnabas Health Facility, is a 640-bed academic medical center that is New Jersey’s largest academic medical center through its deep partnership with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. RWJUH is the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, a nationally-ranked 2023-24 Best Children’s Hospital by U.S. News & World Report. Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, orthopedics, bariatric surgery and women’s health. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the first designated Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness. Learn more at www.rwjbh.org/newbrunswick or www.bmsch.org
RWJUH has earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Recognition for Nursing Excellence and being named to Newsweek’s 2023 list of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers. The RWJUH Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center has been recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association as meeting The Joint Commission's standards for Disease-Specific Care Comprehensive Stroke Center Advanced Certification. RWJUH has also earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Disease-Specific Care Certification for Spine Surgery; The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Bariatric Services; and The Joint Commission Gold Seal Certification for Hip and Knee Replacement services. The Joint Commission also awarded RWJUH a Gold Seal Certification as well as an Advanced Certification in Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Implantation.
Contact: Peter Haigney
RWJUH Public Relations
(732) 937-8568