First 2015 baby born in U.S city is Ghanaian

A boy named Yaw arrived in Minneapolis at 12:01 a.m. New Year’s Day, and he’s believed to be the Twin Cities’ first baby of 2015.

Yaw was born at the Mother Baby Center and weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, 9.5 ounces. He was due Dec. 27.

The newborn’s mother, Bertha Asare of St. Paul, declined to be interviewed but said through a hospital spokesman, “The timing was perfect.”

“Having the first baby of the year is the most amazing feeling a mother could ever have,” Mrs. Asare said.

Yaw’s full name: Okatakyie Yaw Afriyie Asare.
In the custom of her roots in Ghana, the Akan tribe, Asare named her baby after the day he was born. “Yaw” is the name for a boy born on Thursday, Asare said. “Okatakyie” is a title of an important person in society.

“Afriyie” means he came well and at the perfect time, she said.

Yaw is Mrs. Asare’s second child. Yaw’s older brother also was born on a Thursday and also is named Yaw.

Mrs. Asare said she has lived in the United States for eight years, the past four in Minnesota.

The Mother Baby Center opened in February 2013 and is a joint venture of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. It’s attached to Children’s on Chicago Avenue S. and E. 26th Street in Minneapolis.