Newborn baby attends mother’s graduation ceremony hours after birth

A newborn baby became a university’s youngest ever graduation guest when he attended his mother’s degree ceremony at less than a day old.

Clare Hart, 40, feared she might miss her Abertay University graduation ceremony on July 10 after her due date of July 3 came and went.

However she felt well enough to attend the event after Sol MacIntosh Hart-Gordon was born at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee at 5.15pm the evening before the ceremony, weighing 6lb 11oz.

Dressed in a tiny suit with waistcoat with bow tie he attended the event at the city’s Caird Hall with his father Darren Gordon and other family members.

Clare Hart with Darren Gordon and baby Sol at the ceremony (Family Handout/PA)

Ms Hart was delighted to be able to attend the ceremony and graduate with a First-Class Honours Degree in BSc (Hons) Food, Nutrition and Health.

She said: “The plan was always going to be playing it by ear, and Sol’s due date came and went, and I worried that I wasn’t going to make it to graduation.

“I really wanted to be with my classmates and lecturers, and to bring closure to one story before starting my new journey.”

“When he came on Thursday evening, I didn’t know if I could manage. When I was given the all-clear from the midwives, I went home and had a few hours’ sleep in my own bed, and Sol had a very settled night.

“I woke up feeling refreshed and it just felt right – I don’t know if it was just adrenaline or not, but I tried not to put any pressure on myself or on Sol and I think that played a huge part.

“Sol was so settled during the ceremony too, which was a huge relief. I’m so glad I managed to go along and spend a couple of hours there. It just felt so surreal.”

Getting a degree and having a baby are the two hardest things I've done in my life, and I somehow managed to do them together

Clare Hart

Ms Hart, who is from Dundee, said her pregnancy coincided with one of the busiest periods of her degree, especially during the last months of assessments and dissertation work, and thanked her family, fellow students and university staff for their support.

She said: “You’re trying to juggle all of these plates and wear all the different hats, and you can’t do it on your own.

“My classmates and lecturers have been so supportive from the very beginning. I feel so lucky and I couldn’t have asked for a better support system.

“I messaged the class group chat on the morning of graduation telling them that I’d had the baby and that I’d be joining them to graduate. They couldn’t believe it. Everyone’s faces lit up when I walked into the Caird Hall to find my seat.”

She added: “I feel so grateful for the support I’ve received from everyone around me.

“Getting a degree and having a baby are the two hardest things I’ve done in my life, and I somehow managed to do them together. I’m still processing it all.

“I truly never thought this would happen for me, and it has changed who I am as a person.”

Ms Hart is already a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner and hopes to establish a holistic health and nutrition coaching business in the future, drawing on her nutrition degree combined with her existing expertise.

Her partner Darren Gordon, also from Dundee, praised her determination.

He said: “Clare’s incredible. This was a completely natural birth, and both baby and mum are happy and healthy.

“It’s just incredible that she was able to make it here – nothing was stopping her and I think it was just meant to be.”