Worthwhile journey

After a difficult pregnancy during which she developed high blood pressure in the final trimester, Sashenee Williams said she was relieved when she gave birth to a healthy baby girl on New Year’s morning.

Born at 2:12 a.m., her daughter, Alara Williams, was the first recorded birth for 2025 at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH).

“Considering the journey that I went through with labour and delivery, it feels good,” Williams said.

Married for over a year, the 27-year-old accounting officer said she and her husband, Jermaine Williams, were trying to have a baby, but their efforts had appeared to be in futility.

It wasn’t until she was about eight weeks pregnant that she realised she was actually with child.

But her initiation into motherhood was not easy.

“The morning sickness started right up to about seven months. Then, after that, everything else – sleepless nights, and then the delivery part of it, in terms of actually getting into labour and stuff – I had to be induced, so I was in pain for maybe over 24 hours before I actually gave birth,” she said.

Showered with gifts

She said she was initially given a due date of January 3, and was equally surprised that her baby, weighing 2.96 kg, decided to come early.

“I have my little princess here with me, so it was worth it. She is my first, and mi nah promise nobody seh mi going back – willingly,” she added, laughing.

She explained that her husband has a child from a previous relationship, but Alara is their first child together.

As is customary for this occasion, Williams was showered with gifts. This year, representatives from Cari-Med distributors were the first to bring the excited mother presents.

Extolling the support of her husband during her pregnancy, the Old Harbour resident said their aim is to be role models to their children.

“(This includes) being a parent and a friend at the same time, so you know the difference when I’m joking and when I’m actually serious. I want my child to be able to come to me and talk to me about certain things and not be, and be unafraid,” she said.

Meanwhile, Dr Omar Wellington, acting senior medical officer at the VJH, noted that 6,018 births were recorded at the VJH in 2023, down from the reported 6,700 in 2022.

He expressed concern at the decline in births at the largest referral maternity hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Estimates for 2024 indicate that Jamaica’s birth rate – number of live births per 1,000 people in the population – stands at 14.895 births per 1,000, which shows a 1.64 per cent decline from 2023.

The decline in births is common to about 22 countries in the region.

Further, global fertility rates have been declining in all countries for decades, moving from 4.84 in 1950 to 2.23 in 2021, and will continue to drop to 1.59 by 2100, according to an analysis from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021.

Family planning important

While he acknowledges the implications of a declining birth, compounded by Jamaica’s ageing population, Wellington also believes it is equally important for people to plan for pregnancy.

“Bringing a child into the world is not just to bring him in, but also the fact that you also have to care for that child, so of course we will continue to champion reproductive health and for patients to make good decisions about when to start their family,” he said.

He stated that even though the VJH has some facility challenges, it will always work to ensure quality care.

“It has been a good year, and we look forward to expanding our services to make sure that we can continue to give quality care. Victoria Jubilee is not just limited to delivery, but also the fact that we are a training institution so a lot of the doctors that you see in Jamaica come through here as well,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com