No fewer than seven Christmas babies were born at the Hospitaal aan de Stroom hospital group in Antwerp last night. The first Christmas baby was born at the Palfijn Hospital in Merksem. A little later Gloria was born at ZAS Vincentius. ‘This is a magical moment,’ said a proud dad, Ben Heymans.
At Antwerp hospital group Hospitaal aan de Stroom (ZAS), they were proud to report the birth of seven babies on the night of Christmas. The births all occurred between midnight and 9.30am. At ZAS Vincentius, 2 Christmas babies were born. One of the two, Gloria, was born at 1.15 am.
‘The fact that she was born in the night of Christmas made it all even more magical,’ says dad Ben Heymans, for whom this was his first baby. ‘Our parents will be visiting tonight. They can’t wait to meet their granddaughter.’
‘We will make sure we have some champers at the ready to celebrate both the birth and Christmas. Here at the maternity staff also think it's a special moment. The atmosphere is really special.’
According to Ben, the delivery went well. ‘On Monday night, Lotte's waters broke. So we knew then that Gloria's birth would occur in the night of Christmas or on Christmas Day. Our Christmas planning was turned upside down, but for a very good reason of course.’