The BirthPlace at Lakeland Hospital in Niles welcomed southwest Michigan’s first baby of 2017 at 4:12 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 1.

April Jacobs, of Dowagiac, is the new mother of a daughter, Addison Jacobs.

Baby Jacobs weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 19 inches long.

In keeping with their annual tradition of celebrating the first baby of the year, the Lakeland Auxiliary provided the family with a gift basket full of baby items valued at $100.

The Lakeland Health system has delivered generations of southwest Michigan residents with 1,540 babies born in the St. Joseph and Niles hospitals within the last fiscal year.

Lakeland is served by a team of 25 obstetrics and gynecology providers, including physicians, nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives.

In December 2015, Lakeland Health became the first health system in the Midwest and one of eight in the nation to be awarded perinatal care certification by The Joint Commission in recognition of the organization’s efforts to achieve integrated, coordinated and patient-centered care for mothers and their newborns.

For more information about the BirthPlace, visit www.lakelandhealth.org/birthplace.