TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Hawaii -- Each New Year, the hospitals in the state of Hawaii wait in anticipation to see where the first baby of the year will be born.
The friendly, informal competition adds a little bit more excitement to the night for the staff working at the facilities, said Capt. Suzanne Cobleigh, assistant clinical nurse officer-in-charge for Labor and Delivery, Tripler Army Medical Center.
This year Tripler was honored with delivering the first bundle of joy for Hawaii in 2012.
"Having the New Year's baby is a great reminder for our staff of why it is we do what we do," Cobleigh said. "We bring life into this world and who can think of a better way to ring in the New Year."
Faith Erin Fielden was born Jan. 1 at 12:02 a.m. weighing 7 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 20 and a half inches long.
Her parents, Capt. Aaron Fielden, and wife, Erin, who had been anticipating her arrival, couldn't be more happy or proud.
"We were both very anxious," said Aaron, who is originally from Knoxville, Tenn. "The timing worked out really well and the staff has been really great. They have taken good care of all of us. "
Faith was due to arrive around Jan. 18, but Erin suffered from pre-eclampsia at 29 weeks and spent the rest of 2011 on bed rest. Preeclampsia, a medical condition that causes high-blood pressure and excess protein in the urine after 20 weeks of pregnancy in a woman who previously had normal blood pressure, can cause many complications for mother and baby before, during and after pregnancy, but Faith and Erin are both "doing great."
"They scheduled the induction for Dec. 28," said Erin, who is originally from Galion, Ohio. "I spent three full days in labor and finally delivered (on Jan. 1)."
Aaron works at TAMC as an intern in a year-long transitional program. He said he recently received his acceptance to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, where he will complete his residency in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. They are set to leave the island in June.
Mother and baby are doing well and were released on schedule, Jan. 2.
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