CNMI Welcomes New Year’s Baby

A 30-year-old woman from Shanghai, China gave birth to the CNMI’s first baby of 2024, “Melody,” at 4:04 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2025, at the Commonwealth Health Center on Navy Hill. The mother preferred not to share her name or surname.

The 7.2-lb baby girl was delivered by certified midwife Caroline Riegel, who said mom and baby did very well: “She did wonderful. She pushed for a long time and the baby came out screaming and crying like we want her to and everything went great.”

Through CHC nurse Dina Mallari, who served as interpreter, the mother revealed she and her husband moved to Saipan three months prior and chose the CNMI to welcome their first child. They chose the name Melody.

The mother said she loves the island’s environment and, although her baby arrived on New Year’s Day, she had expected to deliver a day earlier, on December 31, 2024.

Because she was in labor over New Year’s Eve and Day, she didn’t notice the fireworks and noise outside. She said she’s still in pain from delivery and hasn’t decided if she’ll have another child yet.

She felt “happy, thankful, and grateful” for the in-kind package typically given to the New Year’s Baby, and expressed deep gratitude to the CHC staff. “She’s thankful to be here on Saipan and glad to have her first born delivered in such a nice environment. She wants to thank all the nurses, doctors, and midwives,” she said.

Midwife Riegel added, “I’m very excited to be delivering the New Year Baby for the CNMI… I want to wish everybody a happy 2025!”