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CNN Live Event/Special

America's New War: Bringing New Life in the Midst of Chaos

Aired September 17, 2001 - 03:56   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, amid the death and destruction in New York, some new lives are being celebrated as well. And we want to bring that to you now.

Since Tuesday's attacks on the World Trade Center, dozens of babies have been born in New York City. And to many, that's a big reason for optimism.

Story now from CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The outside walls of New York University Medical Center in Manhattan are papered with the names, descriptions and photos of the missing, many shown with their children, carrying them, feeding them, holding them in their first days in this world.

Yet at the end of a week when thousands of lives ended, there is this small comfort: knowing that other life have begun.

Meet Nora Rose Draper (ph), born September 15th, one of 56 babies born here since Tuesday morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I've (ph) just felt so good since she's been here, for the first time since that day.

NISSEN: That day, the day the World Trade Center was attacked.

The labor nurses here logged an unusually high number of births Tuesday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two babies, 24 hours.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's actually a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a lot. NISSEN: Nurses say high stress often triggers labor. It did for Lorraine Tobias (ph). She watched the horror unfold on television all last week, until Friday night.

LORRAINE TOBIAS: Like it hit me. And that night, I went into -- my water broke, and she came.

NISSEN: Came three weeks early.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think she decided that it was -- you know, people needed some good news.

NISSEN: Little Max Edelsteinber's (ph) safe arrival was good news for his parents, too. Yet they both admit, they are apprehensive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was sort of overwhelming, the idea that there's so much death and destruction going on, and here we were bringing a new life into the world, and what that world would be for this child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we even tried to call right away, to call our Congress people to ask them, you know, to push for justice rather than revenge. We want peace; we don't want more killing.

TINA MONIS (ph): His name is Jaden Francisco Mirez (ph). And I had him today at 8:06 a.m.

NISSEN: Tina Monis is praying for peace especially hard. Little Jaden's father doesn't yet know his son has been born. Tina's husband is in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard a submarine that is somewhere in the world.

MONIS: I have no way of getting in contact with him probably for a month, a month, month and a half.

NISSEN: The past six days have been terribly hard for Tina: first the attack, now the talk of war.

MONIS: Him being in a war now, with this going on, it's -- you don't even want to think about it.

Hopefully, me bringing this life into the world is making those around me more joyful.

NISSEN: All of these new parents, and the labor-weary nurses, are at heart optimistic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hope. You know, the children are our hope. And that's a new generation that we're bringing into the world. And they're our hope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alex's (ph) mother thought we should call her Hope (INAUDIBLE), because of when she was born.

NISSEN: They didn't name her Hope, although for her parents, she does represent it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, she's being born into the world, but she's also coming into the world -- she'll make it better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's still a good world. I just think we have to believe that.

NISSEN: Maybe we do.

Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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