A Bangladeshi branch manager in an exchange company and his wife became the first parents of 2011 in Bahrain, after their son Shawshwat was born on Saturday at Jidhafs Maternity Hospital.

The baby weighing in at 3.04kg was born on the first day of New Year at 12.17am by caesarean.

"The moment I saw his face, I forgot everything and looked at him," said Subrata Sen. Mother Romarani Debsen and the baby are fine.

This is the first child for the couple, who were anxious yet excited to welcome the new member of their family.

"I came to Bahrain five years ago, while my wife moved in with me last year. He is our New Year baby," said the proud father.

The Health Ministry registered a total of 25 deliveries yesterday during the first 12 hours - 13 at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), 10 at Jidhafs Maternity Hospital and two at Muharraq Maternity Hospital.

Five boys and one girl were born in the first six hours of 2011 to Bahraini couples at the SMC.

The first Bahraini baby of 2011 weighing in at 3.11kg was born at 12.26am. Fatima Abdulla Ali gave birth to Noorah by normal delivery at the SMC.

"She looks like me, but my family says her features resemble my wife," said Hamad Mohammed Abdulla, who works as a supervisor in a trading company.

Noorah is the first child of the couple from Isa Town. "Everyone is wishing us including the hospital staff, who have taken extra care. It's overwhelming and a blessing," said the new father.

Bahrainis Mohammed Ali Jawad and Hanan Hasan Ahmed from Demistan also became proud parents of their first child.

Ahmed is a member of the national handball team and plays for Al Tadhamon club.

The baby boy named Hassan was born at 1.06am at the SMC weighing in at 3.17kg. He is the second Bahraini baby of 2011 and is doing fine with his mother.

The third Bahraini baby was born to Ammar Mohammed Ebrahim and Dalal Yousif Ahmed from Al Naim at the SMC.

Saud is the couple's third child, weighing in at 2.73kg. The boy was born by normal delivery at 2.39am.

Jidhafs Maternity Hospital also registered the first baby of 2011 born to an Indian couple.

Ebrahim Rawther and Mehrunissa Badarudin were the first Indian parents of 2011. Their baby girl weighing in at 3.72kg was born by normal delivery at 2.20am.

Filipino Jaqlin Yesu Carlos gave birth to a boy at 4.31am by normal delivery.

In Muharraq Maternity Hospital, the first delivery was registered after Pakistani Saira Ishtiaq Mohammed gave birth to a girl at 3.25am by caesarean.

The Health Ministry said the SMC registered 26 deliveries on the last day of 2010. This takes the total number of deliveries in 2010 to 11,464.

The last delivery of 2010 registered at the SMC was that of Bahraini Fadheela Ahmed Husain, who gave birth to a baby boy at 11.41pm on Friday. The boy named Qarar is the third child of Faiz Ebrahim Hussain, who works at the SMC and hails from Sitra.-TradeArabia News Service