Christina Harris, right, holds baby daughter Jeannora-Lee Mateaki-Harris, who arrived at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital at 12.59am today. On the left is her mother, TeKura Rikona. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Christina Harris, right, holds baby daughter Jeannora-Lee Mateaki-Harris, who arrived at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital at 12.59am today. On the left is her mother, TeKura Rikona. Photo / Brett Phibbs
While Kiwis' New Year celebrations were kicking into top gear early today, Christina Harris was focused on delivering one of 2019's first babies.
Within 59 minutes of the year's starting, Harris had carried out her New Year's resolution, with the birth of her sixth child.
Jeannora-Lee Mateaki-Harris arrived at 12.59am today at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland.
Her names are derived from her mum's sisters' names.
The brown-eyed girl weighed in at a thoroughly bouncing 4.7kg (10 pounds 5 ounces).
She was the heaviest at birth of Harris' now six children, of whom the oldest is a 17-year-old girl.
When asked if she was disappointed to have missed out on New Year celebrations last night, Harris said, "No. I was ready to have my baby. That was my New Year's resolution.
"My last scan was yesterday. I had my last scan and the scan people said she would be near 11 pounds.
"She was late. She was supposed to come on the 27th of December so she's five days late."
Jeannora-Lee Mateaki-Harris weighed in at 4.7kg (10 pounds 5 ounces), the heaviest at birth of Harris' now six children, of whom the oldest is a 17-year-old girl. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Harris arrived at Middlemore Hospital last night with partner Christopher Harris. Jean's birth was straightforward and "very fast - I couldn't wait for it to be over."
"The contractions started to get closer about 9.30 and me and my partner came to hospital."
A 35-year-old early childhood teacher, from Mangere, Christina Harris looked relaxed and contented at hospital with her baby and her own mother, Tekura Rikona. She expected she would be she would be discharged from hospital tomorrow.
Jean was not the country's first baby of the year. The Herald is aware of one born at around 12.30am at North Shore Hospital.
On average, around 165 babies are born per day in New Zealand, given the annual count of around 60,000 live births. The annual number has been trending down since a peak of 64,341 in 2008. The highest number from 1952 to 2017 was in 1961, during the baby boom, when there were 65,391 live births, according to data from Statistics New Zealand.
New Zealand's total fertility rate dropped to 1.81 births per woman in 2017, its lowest recorded level. That meant that based on birth rates in 2017, New Zealand women would average 1.81 births over their lifetime. In 1961, the peak year, the total fertility rate was 4.31 births per woman.
If Jean's life runs along the average, she can expect to be alive until near the end of the 21st century.
