Beebe Healthcare celebrates first newborn of 2023

Beebe Healthcare’s labor and delivery department welcomed the first child of 2023 at the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus at 12:51 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1.

Baby girl Alya Itzae Colon Morales was born to Norma Morales Perez and Ricard Colon Alsina. She weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches in height.

Every year, Beebe team members take up a collection to provide a gift basket of baby-friendly hospital items to the first baby’s family. This year, an anonymous community member hand-knitted a blanket, sweater and hat for the newborn.

Baby-friendly hospitals like Beebe ensure every woman delivering a baby knows the importance and benefits of breastfeeding, and learns how to initiate the practice immediately after delivery. Baby-friendly hospitals initiate skin-to-skin contact immediately after delivery or C-section, keeping moms and babies in the same room and supporting moms with breastfeeding through lactation consultants.

Beebe is recognized by the National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program as a Safe Sleep Champion for its commitment to best practices and education on infant safe sleep. The National Safe Sleep Hospital Certification Program was created to prevent infant sleep-related deaths due to accidental suffocation.