New Year babies bring new hope and joy to start of 2024
New Year babies have been arriving, bringing new hope and new life to their families.
Just six minutes after midnight, a baby boy was delivered at the Pudong branch of the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital. He was the first 2024 baby delivered at the hospital, which is nicknamed Shanghai's cradle due to having the highest number of births in the city.
A baby boy born at the Pudong branch of the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital at 0:06am is the hospital's first New Year baby in 2024.
Zhu Wenjing, the midwife who welcomed the baby, said it was the third New Year's Eve she had served in the delivery room.
"Welcoming babies at the arrival of a new year is the happiest thing to mark a new start," she said.
A couple takes a picture with their baby girl at the Puxi branch of the Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital.
By 8am, the hospital's two branches had welcomed nine babies, including eight through natural births.
Officials from the Fengxian branch of the Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital said it received its first New Year baby at 0:16am, after opening in September 2022.
"My son is the best New Year's gift for our family," said the mother, surnamed Dong.
A father holds his newborn son at the Fengxian branch of the Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital.
The Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University also welcomed five New Year babies by 9am.
Its first New Year baby was a girl born at 0:15 through caesarean operation.
