Baby No. 1
First infant born at Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center is a surprise
By Nan Bauroth | Photos courtesy of Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center
Three months before Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center opened in June, 40 babies were already scheduled to be born there that month. The first to arrive, however, wasn’t one of them.
On the evening of Sunday, June 25, Abdulqadir, the son of Zeba Peerzade and Mohammad Salik Qureshi, arrived weighing 7 pounds, 5 ounces, making him the first baby born at the new hospital. He was also the first baby for his mother and father.
“The staff was so excited,” Qureshi recalls. “We received such nice treatment, not just in terms of medications during the labor, but everyone was so very caring and welcoming.”
Dr. Holly Stevens, who delivered Abdulqadir, says he was also a surprise for her. “I just happened to be the lucky physician on call that day!”
The couple chose Novant Health Ballantyne Medical Center because the obstetrician who had been caring for Peerzade suggested they check it out when it opened to see if they would prefer to go there for the birth.
So, on Friday, June 23, they stopped in for a tour. However, the woman at the front desk informed them no one was available to give them a tour at the time, and they would have to make an appointment. “I told her it could be any day and we probably wouldn’t have time to do that,” says Qureshi.
But the next day, Qureshi was able to take a tour. “I liked the hospital. Everything was secure and so nice and looked really good, so we decided to go there.”
As if on cue, that night, Peerzade went into labor. When she arrived at the hospital on Sunday to deliver, the same woman who had been working at the front desk on Friday did a doubletake. “I told you it would be any moment,” Qureshi told her with a laugh.
“Dr. Stevens took really good care of me,” says Peerzade, who was in labor for 15 hours. “The nurses were also wonderful.” The couple had no idea their child would be the first born there, and when the staff told Qureshi, he kept mum. “I didn’t want Zeba to get panicky,” he says.
After the baby arrived, staff members gave the couple gifts, including a onesie saying, “First baby at Novant Ballantyne.” The chef of the hospital restaurant came in as well, offering to make Peerzade a special meal, and he delivered it later to her suite.