Baby New Year 2018 Arrives at North Oaks Medical Center

Nearly 19 hours into the new year, Shaquell LaFrance and Clarence White of Hammond celebrated the arrival of their second daughter and North Oaks Medical Center’s first baby of 2018.

After 8 hours of active labor for LaFrance, baby girl Clarielle White arrived at 6:59 p.m. on Jan. 1 to ring in the new year with her parents and 3-year-old sibling Sha’Niyah, who is “very happy to be a big sister.” Clarielle was delivered by Obstetrician/Gynecologist Diana Dang, MD, and weighed 6 lbs., 8.3 oz. with a length of 18½ inches.

Dang joined North Oaks’ labor & delivery and nursery staff the morning of Jan. 2 to shower Clarielle with a “welcome basket” of goodies and essentials from the hospital.

“Clarielle and her big sister make me want to be the best mom possible,” LaFrance shares as she gazes lovingly and thoughtfully at her newborn. “I’m going to raise them as ‘princesses.’ .. I want them to have the brightest futures possible … to be intelligent, successful and independent.”

“I want the best for both of my daughters,” White adds, while cradling Clarielle. “Her mom and I are going to do our best by them. I want to give them a life better than mine.”

Both LaFrance and White note that their daughters are their motivation to achieve their own goals and become the best versions of themselves. Currently, LaFrance is a sophomore studying accounting at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. White, a running back, recently transferred to Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi, from Fresno City College in Fresno, California, to join the Braves’ football program.

To learn more about Women & Children’s Services at North Oaks Medical Center, click here.