Welcoming two midnight babies in our District.

While many Sydneysiders were welcoming the new year with fireworks, two mums across our District were patiently waiting for a different arrival.

The start of 2023 came with a birth at Canterbury Hospital at 12:08am. Suhair Al-Hazi and her husband Mohammed Hatem welcomed their third child, a healthy baby boy, Hatem Al-Hooti.

Both Suhair and Mohammed were not anticipating the rollercoaster ride of giving birth at the beginning of New Year’s Day.

“It was not expected. We were waiting around for 3 days and until that day I decided to go out – my wife said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just like every day you can go’. But at 9 o’clock she was calling me back to say, ‘Please come, there’s an emergency situation’,” said Mohammed.

A few minutes later another baby was born at RPA Hospital. At 12:16am Madeline Chine and her husband welcomed their son, Rosario “Ari” Anthony, after a lengthy 36-hour labour.

Like Suhair at Canterbury, Madeline did not expect their first child to be born on the first of day of the year.

“My due date was the 28^th of December, so we were taking bets and thinking, ‘Surely not’,” she said.

Both families were extremely grateful for the wonderful care and support they received from District midwives and nurses.

“It was amazing. The hospital treated us very well and had very good service. It’s really appreciated,” Mohammed said.

“Thank you to the staff, they were amazing and what they do is great,” Madeline said.

10 babies were delivered in the District on New Year’s Day: four at Canterbury Hospital, and six at RPA.