After two years of caring for others during the coronavirus pandemic, it was the turn of Indian nurse Sherin Babu for extra special care as her first child arrived minutes into Eid Al Adha.
Ms Babu, who has recovered from Covid-19, gave birth to Seria Mary Rony at Medeor Hospital in Abu Dhabi to make the Eid celebrations extra special for her family.
Giving birth in the hospital where she works as an intensive care specialist nurse meant Ms Babu was surrounded by friends and colleagues.
Seria was born just after midnight, and weighed 2.86 kilograms.
“Sometimes, such coincidences make us happy,” Ms Babu said.
“I have been working on the front lines here, and we have seen the ordeal of our patients in the ICU and extended our support to them.
“When I was sick with Covid-19, I got good care from my colleagues.
“Now, I was surrounded by them to welcome my first baby.
“They are like guardians for my baby and me. I will cherish this moment forever as a healthcare worker.”
Ms Babu handled complex cases during the peak of the pandemic and supported patients in the ICU for weeks.
In the course of duty, she caught the coronavirus in June last year. When her symptoms deteriorated and she struggled to breathe, Ms Babu was admitted to hospital for several days.
Ms Babu was discharged a few days later after recovering from complications.
“This Eid Al Adha is so special to us, because Sherin is like family and has been such a brave warrior on the front lines,” said Dr Walid El Sherbiny, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Medeor Hospital.
“Because of this, welcoming baby angel Seria on this auspicious day is such a joyful and proud moment for all of us.”
Ms Babu was the one of the first women to give birth in the early hours of Eid Al Adha.
At Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, Abdul Rahman Omar Abdulrahman Mohamed was born to Egyptian couple Omar Abdulrahman Mohamed and Yasmin Sadeq Abdelhamid, and is the first child in the family.
Abdul was born on the stroke of midnight, and weighed a healthy 3kg.
“Our entire family has longed for the baby’s arrival since Yasmin became pregnant,” Mr Mohamed said.
“We didn't expect to give Omar a special welcome to the world on Eid Al Adha. His birth on this blessed day has doubled our happiness.”
At Danat Al Emarat Hospital for Women and Children, parents celebrated the first day of Eid Al Adha with the arrival of three baby girls.
The first was the Emirati family of Sultan Hasan, who welcomed daughter Dana.
The second was delivered to a Jordanian family at 3.51am, and the third Eid baby at the hospital was delivered at 7.09am.
Asma’s father thanked hospital staff for the safe delivery.
“We thank God that both, she and her mother are in good health,” said Emirati Mussalam Mohammed Alrashdi.
Since Abu Dhabi's Danat Al Emarat hospital delivered its first baby in 2015, medical staff have welcomed 29,153 babies ― of those 16,172 were Emirati.
Meanwhile, at NMC Speciality Hospital in Al Ain, Shemeema Puthu gave birth to her second child, Anoush Ahmed, at 12.44am, and was supported by her husband, Noufal Mambullinhalil, an accountant from India.
The baby was delivered at full term and weighed 3.05kg.
Just before 4am, a Emirati baby girl was also born at NMC Royal Hospital in Sharjah.
Shahd Ismail Miri was the second child for Ismail Miri, a site supervisor at the House of Wisdom and the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority.
“I’m very happy to be a father again to my beautiful precious baby girl,” Mr Miri said.
“I want to thank Allah for this blessing. He bestowed us his blessings on such a holy day. I’m thrilled and elated.”
