Couple’s first child is the first baby born in Clark County in 2020

Austin Pratt, 24, and Brianna Miller, 24, with their new baby girl, Ellamae Rose Pratt. Ellamae is the first baby born in Clark County this year, arriving at 5:35 pm. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Austin Pratt, 24, and Brianna Miller, 24, with their new baby girl, Ellamae Rose Pratt. Ellamae is the first baby born in Clark County this year, arriving at 5:35 pm. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Entering the world during the early evening hours of New Year’s day, Ellamae Rose Pratt was the first baby born in Clark County in 2020.

It was a pleasant surprise for her parents Austin Pratt and Brianna Miller, both 24, as she was delivered 25 days earlier than expected. However, the couple arrived at Mercy Health’s Springfield Regional Medical Center on Dec. 30 expecting to see their newborn daughter that day.

Doctors had advised that Ellamae be born early due to her mother having cholestasis, a liver condition that can occur in the late stages of pregnancy. The condition can cause the flow of bile from the liver to stop or slow down and it can lead to complications with the pregnancy.

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However, Miller gave birth to a healthy baby girl and her first child, at 5:35 p.m. on New Year’s day. Her daughter weighed 7.9 pounds and was named after Miller’s great, great-grandmother.

“We came in and thought (Ellamae) was going to be born on Dec. 30th. But, she wanted to wait,” Pratt said of his first child on Thursday.

“(Ellamae) could pick her head up as soon as she left the womb,” he added with a smile on his face.

The couple hails from Michigan and met while in high school. They both said they wanted to have a kid and hope to have another. Ellamae is expected to leave the hospital with her parents on Friday as they expect to return to their Sugarcreek Twp. home in Greene County.

The couple has lived in Ohio for a couple of years and recently lived in Springfield before moving over the summer. They were impressed with Springfield Regional during the coarse of the pregnancy and decided to return there for the birth of their daughter, the couple said on Thursday.

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Pratt works for the roofing company Erie Construction and Miller is a student studying psychology at the University of Cincinnati. She expects to graduate in the fall and wants to work with homeless veterans.

Miller said she found out that she was pregnant in May. Ellamae’s gender was revealed during an ultrasound 16 weeks later. They wanted to have a boy first, Pratt joked.

Miller and Pratt said they are engaged and they expect to marry in October. In the meantime, they look forward to going home with their newborn daughter.

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