Janelle Imhoff, maternal child director at Highland Community Hospital, who helps ensure infants and their mothers remain healthy after childbirth, hopes to ring in the New Year with a special delivery.

“We’re always looking forward and anticipating a delivery on New Year’s Day and it’s nice when it does happen. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t,” Imhoff said.

While the hospital didn’t have a delivery on Christmas Day, they delivered two infants on Dec. 26 and a set of twins on Dec. 27. In the morning hours of Dec. 28, a newborn named Cheyenne was brought into the world. Chelciah Stacks beamed at the sight of her newborn when RN Sarah Edgar handed her over after conducting standard procedures on the infant.

Stacks is one of the many women who has given birth at Highland Community Hospital’s women’s service, which is the hospital’s department of labor and delivery. The medical staff performed around 313 deliveries this year.

Imhoff said it’s always exciting to help bring life into the world at the start of a new year.

Pearl River County welcomed the first baby of 2015 on New Year’s Day at Highland Community Hospital at 1:48 a.m. The baby boy, Bentley, measured in at 10 pounds, 9 and a half ounces, according to a story in January.

Imhoff said they delivered more infants this year than the year prior.

“I have noticed that there is more of a local interest in using the services here. We take a lot of pride in our work here and we have a committed staff,” Imhoff said.

The team at the women’s service focuses on helping create a strong bond between infants and their families by doing all the necessary procedures inside the delivery room. They also have a nursery that’s utilized for intermediate care, such as the administering of antibiotics, Imhoff said.

“We focus on the childbirth experience,” Imhoff said. Adding, “We’re looking forward to the New Year.”

Highland Community Hospital is located at 130 Highland Parkway.