As Trinidad and Tobago rang in the New Year on Thursday, Carla Blackman and Issac Peters ushered in 2026 with their own special celebration: the birth of the country’s first baby of the year, a son named Brandon.
Born at 12:10am on January 1st at the San Fernando General Hospital, baby Brandon brought joy to his parents and marked a happy start to the year for the nation.
On New Year’s Day, the hospital was buzzing with activity as the Minister of Health Dr. Lackram Bodoe, Minister in the Ministry of Health Dr. Rishad Seecharan, and Minister of Land and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Saddam Hosein, visited the mothers and mothers-to-be present in the ward.
Dr. Bodoe said, “We have already had 12 births in the country. We have had three at the SWRHA, one at the NCRHA, four at the NWRHA, two at the ERHA, and two in Tobago. So that gives us 12 in all. I want to take the opportunity to congratulate all those mothers and, of course, to wish each and every one, citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of myself and the Minister in the Ministry, a happy and prosperous 2026.”
Ms. Blackman, a mother of three, praised her medical team, noting that she felt well taken care of.
“I’m not being biased, but I was treated very nicely. And I didn’t even mention I was staff until someone saw me and was like, ‘You’re not working in the laundry?’ And then I was like, ‘They didn’t tell me I was staff,’ but I did it because I didn’t want any special treatment. I wanted to see how the sector actually treats people. And the first time actually in San Fernando. My first two children was in Port of Spain General. And then I ended up having a C-section, which was kind of difficult, but they were perfect. I felt, all the scared, I was scared, I felt good.”
Mr. Peters said he always knew what he wanted to name his son.
“I gave him Brandon, but that’s a name that I always liked, from my first child. My first child is a daughter, and I always wanted a boy. So I get the boy now so I said Brandon it is.”
Not only was Baby Brandon the first baby to be born in T&T for 2026, but he was also the first to be registered through the Bedside Birth Registration Pilot Programme.
The proud parents were given a hamper filled with baby items on behalf of the South West Regional Health Authority.