Two generations born in the same hospital, 34 years apart

1 of 5 :

Damaris Lozano and Andrew Al-Shamas are expecting a baby girl to be delivered at Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Women & Newborns, the same hospital as her father.

2 of 5 :

The couple met in college and were married in 2023.

3 of 5 :

Damaris says they found out they were expecting a girl but would have been happy either way.

4 of 5 :

Andrew being held by his mother next to his father and three siblings in 1990.

5 of 5 :

“The Californian” says baby Andrew checked into the world three hours after the doors to the then new Women’s Health Center opened.

The year was 1990: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were all the rage, “Driving Miss Daisy” won the Academy Award for best picture, and the U.S. average price of gasoline was $1.15 a gallon. Sharp Grossmont Hospital had also just opened its Women’s Health Center, and the Al-Shamas family welcomed its fourth child into the world, a boy named Andrew.

While the birth of a child is always a momentous event, Andrew Al-Shamas’ birth was extra special. He was the first baby born at the then-new Women’s Health Center, now called Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Women & Newborns.

Fast-forward to 2024, and he’s 34 years old and married to Damaris Lozano. The couple met at Cuyamaca College and are expecting their first child to be born in the same hospital as Andrew.

Spoiler alert: It’s a girl!

Andrew and Damaris, who have been married for a year and a half, live in Spring Valley. Damaris said they had a small gender reveal party with family to share the news that they’re expecting a girl on Aug. 2 and planning to name her Madeline.

With her pregnancy cravings in full swing, Damaris has a healthy appetite for her usual favorite foods. But she adds: “Madeline has been craving hamburgers, sandwiches, lots of frozen fruit and, of course, chocolate!”

Damaris is also enjoying her mother’s homemade Mexican food. But that was a given even before she was expecting, and she says the same goes for Andrew.

Big news in 1990

Because Andrew was the first newborn at the women’s hospital, CBS News 8 covered the story in May 1990. Caught on film was the family’s discussion about what to name the baby.

“It was between Mark and Andrew,” says Andrew, and he prefers the name his parents chose for a fun reason. “It made my initials unique — AAA, or triple A. If anyone is old enough to remember, the default high scores for old arcade games used the initials AAA. That was always pretty cool being the high score.”

When Andrew got a little older, his mother shared a recording of the CBS 8 story with him. The family had captured the footage on a VHS tape. At the time, he wasn’t sure what to make of it all.

“I didn’t really understand the situation until I hit my teens. By then, I had gathered everything from the day I was born and was old enough to appreciate it,” he says.

Andrew even took the time to digitally convert the VHS tape. Along with a newspaper clipping, he plans to share these precious keepsakes with Madeline when she’s older. That includes sharing a sweet story about a gift he received to celebrate his first birthday.

“My family was invited back to the hospital, and the staff gave me a 6-foot-tall stuffed, fluffy dog as a birthday present, which I loved and had in my room for many years into my teens,” he says.

Multigenerational families at Sharp Grossmont

According to Kari Bernet, director of women’s and infant services, the women’s hospital delivers more than 2,000 babies every year.

“We’re the largest health care provider for women in East San Diego County and often care for generations of families. In fact, many of our own staff were born here — and their kids and grandchildren,” she says.

“It’s always a pleasure to see, but it’s extra special welcoming back Andrew and his family.”

Parenthood and the next generation

Like most soon-to-be fathers, Andrew is filled with emotions about bringing another generation of his family into the world.

It’s not lost on him that he’s on the same journey his parents took over 30 years ago — not just pacing the same hospital floors but embarking on one of life’s most notable events: parenthood. And when he holds his daughter for the first time, he’ll be in the same spot where his parents first held him.

“I’m definitely happy and am loving my journey and my parents. But I’m also looking forward to the rest of the journey with Damaris and our own new, expanding family,” he says. “It also makes me feel good knowing that we’re being taken care of in a place that has been dedicated to caring for the welfare of mothers giving birth for so long.”

Learn more about pregnancy and childbirth; get the latest health and wellness news, trends and patient stories from Sharp Health News; and subscribe to our weekly newsletter by clicking the "Sign up" link below.