On Thursday, the Local Health Unit of Coimbra (ULS de Coimbra) announced the birth of the “most famous baby of yesterday morning.” The announcement came after the child’s mother called Rádio Comercial while on her way to Maternidade Daniel de Matos, where the radio hosts encouraged her.
Duarte “became the most famous baby of yesterday morning when Pedro Ribeiro requested on Rádio Comercial for people to make way for mother Catarina,” the health unit shared on Facebook.
The organization noted, however, that the baby “made his presence known and then made everyone wait,” as he was born only on Thursday morning at 7:00 a.m.
“It seems he is as early as the team of Manhãs da Comercial, isn’t that right, Nuno Markl, Vera Fernandes, and Vasco Palmeirim?” joked ULS de Coimbra.
The entity reported that Duarte was born weighing 3.185 kilograms and is “ready to embrace the world.”
“Mother and son are well, and we will continue to care for them until they can make the journey home — to the sound of Comercial, to uphold tradition. Here, you can continue to count on ULS de Coimbra for a safe birth in the National Health Service! Long life to Duarte and many congratulations to all his family!” they added.
It is noteworthy that after two years of increase, the number of births in Portugal decreased last year to 80,059, 1,059 less than in 2023, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of births only increased in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (+2.4%), in the Oeste and Vale do Tejo (+1.2%), in Greater Lisbon (+0.9%), and on the Setúbal Peninsula (+0.1%), according to the same source.
“In other regions, there was a more pronounced decrease in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-8.7%), as well as in the North (-3.5%) and in Alentejo and Algarve (both -2.4%),” according to INE.
The available data further indicated that 82,911 births occurred in a hospital setting, while 841 took place at home and 307 elsewhere.
