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An American doctor who has delivered around 8 000 babies over his 40-year career was recently honoured for his unique way of welcoming newborns into the world.
Dr Carey Andrew-Jaja from Pittsburgh in the US has sung to almost every baby he’s delivered.
Earlier this year, the city of Pittsburgh declared 16 May “Jaja Day” to celebrate Dr Andrew-Jaja who has earned the name The Singing Doctor thanks to his tradition of singing to the babies he delivers, PEOPLE reports.
“There’s a joy when people perform this way to honour the baby and the parents,” he told Good Morning America.
“And I’m happy that the city recognised that.”
Throughout his impressive career countless families and patients have shared videos of Dr Andrew-Jaja singing to their babies to soothe them.
His go-to song for newborns is Happy Birthday but sometimes he’ll switch it up with a classic such as What a Wonderful World.
“Childbirth is very stressful for the patient and their family,” the singing doctor said.
“Therefore, we as caregivers must strive to provide excellent care in an excellent setting with a smile on our face and a song in our heart.”
Dr Andrew-Jaja retired two years ago but made a special return just to serenade a patient’s newborn baby after her 16 June delivery.
“It’s such a special thing to have your child celebrated, because obviously it’s the biggest day in your life to you,” new mom Lindsay Grimes said.
Lindsay was one of the doctor’s very last patients to have a baby and he sang What a Wonderful World to baby Luella.
“He has the most beautiful voice and of course, he includes their name and ends the song with ‘Welcome to our beautiful world, Luella,’ which brought me to tears, because it is such a beautiful world,” Lindsay added.
The hospital called Dr Andrew-Jaja a larger-than-life personality who had a positive influence on both the hospital staff and patients.
Sources: Good Morning America, PEOPLE
