The Port Moresby General Hospital Labour Ward delivered forty (40) babies during New Year’s Day, Sunday, the 1st of January, 2023.
Of the 40 babies, 25 were male and 15 were female; three deliveries were via Cesarean section and the rest were normal births.
A set of twins was also delivered where one baby was delivered through normal childbirth but the mother was assisted via vacuum to deliver the second baby.
Mother from Simbu, Susan Michael, delivered the heaviest baby for New Year’s Day, a bouncing baby boy weighing a whopping 4.3 kg who was born at 1:10 pm.
Dilala Kiniwi, 31, from Southern Highlands Province who delivered her baby girl weighing 3.75 kg said in 2016, she had delivered a set of twins, a boy and a girl on Christmas Day so she’s happy to have another special baby again.
“I feel it’s a blessing to me because it’s a double celebration for me. When we are celebrating Christmas, I will also celebrate the birth of my twins and when we celebrate the New Year, I will be celebrating my daughter’s birthday too. So it’s a double blessing with double celebrations for me and my family,” said Ms. Kiniwi.
Betty Will, 34 from Enga who gave birth to a baby girl weighing 3.7 kg at 7 pm said that her water broke after the turn of the New Year; however, because they resided at Morata 2, it was difficult to come quickly to the hospital.
She said she was in a lot of pain and they had called the St John Ambulance for assistance but due to fighting and rowdy celebration going on in the area, the ambulance team was not able to go in to assist her.
“Long moning, mipela kalap long taxi na polis eskotim mipela kam lusim mipela long Waigani na mipela kam long hausik (We got on a taxi in the morning and the police escorted us to Waigani and then we came to the hospital),” said Ms Will.
It is believed that the PMGH Labour Ward had the highest number of babies born on New Year’s Day.
Photo Captions:
1. Betty Will, 34 from Enga Province with her daughter who was born on New Year’s Day around 7 pm weighing 3.7 kg.
2. Dilala Kiniwi, 31 from Southern Highlands Province pictured with her daughter who was born during the early morning of New Year’s Day.
3. Olivia Amos, 22, from Western Highlands Province looks lovingly at her baby girl who was born at 1:15 am. Her baby was the first to be recorded being born on New Year’s Day.