ALOR STAR: Young couple, Nur Ajliah Aimi Jamaludin, 25, and Fikri Iskandar, 27, ushered in the New Year with the birth of their first child at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital here yesterday morning.
Their newborn baby girl, named Nur Raisha Qaireen, was born at 12.22am and was the first baby delivered at the hospital on 2017.
Ajliah, who was clearly exhausted due to the long hours in pre-labour, said that the birth was totally unexpected as she was initially due on December 28.
“I am very happy. My child was born healthy and she weighs 2.8kg. It is definitely a special day for my husband and I,” she said.
Kedah recorded a total of 23 New Year babies comprising 13 boys and ten girls at seven public hospitals throughout the state as of 7am yesterday.
The state’s health director Datuk Norhizan Ismail said that ten New Year babies were born at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star, four at the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital in Sungai Petani and two each at the Kulim, Langkawi and Kuala Nerang public hospitals.
Norhizan also said that the first New Year’s baby of the state was a baby boy who was delivered at 12.01am at the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital yesterday at 2.59kg weight.
Over in Penang, nine New Year’s day babies were welcomed.
The mother of one of the babies, Quah Maggie, 23, said she was actually due on December 29. She said when met at the Penang Hospital yesterday, on New Year’s eve, she started having labour pains at about 11pm.
“My son, who is my second child, was born at 6.22pm,” Quah said, adding that she was overjoyed to have welcomed her baby on the first day of the year.
In Klang, a housewife from Bandar Bukit Tinggi yesterday celebrated the joyful occasion when her daughter decided to be a New Year's day baby.
Adyinney Abdullah, 27, said she did not expect to give birth to her healthy 3.1 kilogram baby shortly after entering the New Year.
“I was only due to deliver this Tuesday, but my water broke much earlier.
“It was unexpected situation for me. Maybe she wanted to be New Year’s baby,” she said.
Her baby was delivered at 12.09am, the first baby born on New Year’s Day at Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR).
Another young mother, Maslina Mazlan, 24, said she was happy to have her baby girl born on New Year’s day.
“I am happy and grateful to have safely delivered my first child and I am waiting for my husband so we can choose a beautiful name for our daughter,” she said, after delivering her baby at 7.59am yesterday.
A check at HTAR found that a total of 12 New Year babies were delivered at the hospital as of 11am.
Seven of the babies are girls, while another five are boys.