Emirati twins some of the first born in 2018 in the UAE

Zayed and Salama born on the stroke of midnight at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi

Baby Muhammad Abdul Hadi was born at 12:03am to parents Mohammed and Asma Rizwan, in Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Burjeel Hospital

Emirati twins were among the first babies born in the UAE in 2018, to the delight of parents and doctors at Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

As the nation enjoyed spectacular fireworks displays to welcome in the New Year, some parents were anticipating an altogether different start to 2018.

Emirati twins Zayed and Salama were born at exactly 00:00 hours on January 1 at Burjeel Hospital, with the boy fittingly named in the Year of Zayed, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of the UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

“The best feeling we have is when we see the joy and happiness on the face of parents when they welcome their new babies,” said Dr Sausan Abdul Rahman, a consultant of obstetrics and gynaecology at Burjeel Hospital.

“We wish the Al Qubaisi family a life full of happy moments and memories.”

Parents of Zayed and Salama, Ahmed Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Alia Mohamed Al Rumeithi, were not the only ones to welcome additions to their families as the clock struck 12.

Just three minutes later and Dr Pathukutty Mohammed, also a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, was successfully helping deliver another baby to Pakistani expatriates at Burjeel Hospital.

Baby Muhammad Abdul Hadi, was born at 12:03am to parents Mohammed and Asma Rizwan who live in Abu Dhabi.

“Baby Muhammad will always be remembered at Burjeel Hospital and in every new year celebration,” said Dr Pathukutty.

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Ten more babies, 9 of whom are Emiratis, joined baby Zayed, baby Salama, and baby Muhammad in the early hours of the first day of the new year – a first in the hospital’s history.

It was a busy night for the hospital’s maternity staff.

Dana Alhanaei was born to Emirati parents Fatima Alhosani, 34, and Yaqoub Alhanaei, 37, at 12:21am whilst Emirati baby boy Ali Alyamahi was born to Aisha Seraidy, 35, and Ahmed Alyamahi, 37, just 13 minutes later.

Hospital staff had a break of less than an hour before the next birth, when Muna Salem Ali Al Rashedi delivered a baby girl at 1:29am. She is yet to be named.

A Chinese boy, Zhuo Liu was born to parents Shan Cao, 29, and Ming Liu, 30, less than 20 minutes later, and Omani mum Intidhar Khamise, 30, gave birth to a girl who has been named Alhanouf Abdulaziz Al Remeithi.

At the end of a long night for maternity nurses at Burjeel Hospital, Emirati Mubarek Almeri was born to parents Huda Alameri, 33, and Amer Alameri, 36, at 8:12am.

Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah was also welcoming its first New Year baby shortly after midnight.

A Sudanese couple had an extra special celebration after welcoming one of the first babies to be born in 2018 at 12:03am.

Dr Rizmee Shireen, a consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Al Zahra Hospital Sharjah, who delivered the newborn, said both mother and daughter were in good health and doing well.

The healthy baby girl weighing 3kg, who is yet to be named, made her father Ali Shaker very proud as he starts the New Year with an extra spring in his step.

“It’s an incredible feeling and I would like to thank God for the safe delivery of our child,” he said.

“I’m happy the baby was born at Al Zahra Hospital, Sharjah due to the attention and excellent medical care provided by the staff.

“Having our baby at this time of the year has made this New Year extremely special for us."

Danat Al Emrat Hospital for Women & Children in Abu Dhabi,  Khalifa Al Qamzi and his wife Amal Al Muheiri welcomed a new girl.

Naema was the first baby born after midnight at the hospital.

"This baby is blessed, she was born in the Year of Zayed and she brought so much happiness. Every baby comes with rezga (blessing)," said Mr Al Qamzi. "We were expecting the delivery to be between January 1st and 5th, and this is the first baby we planned. Naema (delicate in Arabic) was named after my mother and everyone is happy to have her."

The couple already has three sons and a daughter. The oldest Mohammed, 18, currently doing UAE National Service, Deema, aged 16, Ali, 11, and the youngest, Saif, is seven-years-old.

“So there is a big (age) difference between my last child and Naema.”

“We took a pause for a while, then thought let’s have a new baby, our children grew up and my wife is still young (42) and has energy for more,” said the 44-year-old.

At Danat Al Emrat, Naema’s birth was followed by that of Hissa Al Katheeri, also a UAE national.

“Our newborn is the third in the family and we named her Hissa. She was due to be with us on 28 December, but she waited for another three days to join us on this very special day,” said her father Abdulrahman Al Katheeri.

Both babies were delivered by Dr. Shakeela Irfan, specialist obstetrics and gynaecology at the hospital.