New Year, New Life: Welcoming Stanford Medicine Children’s Health First Baby of 2025!

A Joyous Start to the New Year as Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford Celebrates the Birth of Rania Zhang

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, the core of the Stanford Medicine Children’s Health network, rang in 2025 with a heartwarming moment — welcoming the first baby of the New Year on Wednesday morning at 2:47 a.m.

First-time parents, Ran Duan and Jerry Zhang, from Mountain View, joyfully welcomed in their daughter, Rania, on New Year’s Day. Raina is not only their first child but also the first grandchild of their family, and the start of a new generation.

“We are thrilled she’s our dragon baby,” shared Jerry. In the Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power, strength, wisdom, and luck. According to the new parents, having a child born under this zodiac sign is a source of pride, embracing and representing their cultural heritage. The 2025 Chinese New Year is on January 29, which marks the start of the new zodiac sign, the year of the wood snake.

Proud parents, Ran Duan and Jerry Zhang, holding their daughter Rania.

In 2024, there were 5,048 total births at Packard Children’s. On the days surrounding the New Year, there were 14 babies born on December 31st and 7 born on January 1st, adding to the joyous atmosphere and marking a special time for many families. On average, the hospital delivers nearly a dozen babies each day.

Packard Children’s is exclusively dedicated to caring for expectant mothers and children, and is ranked as one of the top children’s hospital in the nation and as a “High Performing” hospital for maternity care by U.S. News & World Report.