CBS News' Nikki Battiste and Husband Dean Welcome Baby No. 2: 'She Is a Miracle' (Exclusive)
Nikki Battiste and Dean Simpson are already parents to 3-year-old son Beau
Courtesy of Nikki Battiste
CBS News National Correspondent Nikki Battiste is a mom of two!
The journalist, 43, and husband Dean Simpson have welcomed a baby girl, a rep for the couple tells PEOPLE exclusively.
Daughter Viviana Hope Battiste-Simpson was born in the early morning on Friday, July 14th at Weill-Cornell in New York City, weighing 7 lbs., 15 oz.
"My husband, Dean Simpson, and I are overjoyed to have our daughter, Viviana, in our arms and healthy after our journey through secondary infertility. She is a miracle," the new mom of two tells PEOPLE.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Courtesy of Nikki Battiste
Related: Who's Due Next? Celebs Who Are Expecting
The couple says that their baby girl is "a cuddly darling and loves to eat!" and adds, "our son Beau, 3, is thrilled to have a baby sister."
Battiste — who sheds light on those struggling with infertility, including her own experience, in a three-part series on CBS called Facing Fertility — notes, "Statistically, at my age (then 42, now 43) doubled with a low ovarian reserve, there was on average about a 9% chance my husband and I would be able to have a second biological child."
"After our fertility doctor, Dr. Eric Forman at Columbia University Fertility Center told me I had a low ovarian reserve, he said, 'It will be difficult to have another child, but there is hope,' " she continues. "It was a gut-wrenching statement to hear at the time."
Courtesy of Nikki Battiste
"After initial failed rounds of IVF, we could only hold onto hope. After four rounds, we had one viable embryo. Luckily, the embryo transfer was successful," she adds.
"After our 'Facing Fertility,' I received private messages from hundreds of people about their own infertility journeys. I hope we can all be reminded that so many are suffering in silence, and I hope we can continue the conversations around fertility, IVF, surrogacy, donation, egg freezing, adoption and women’s health.
Given the circumstances, Battiste says, "Hope seemed fitting as our daughter’s middle name. "Viviana means 'alive.'"
Courtesy of Nikki Battiste
"For the duration of my pregnancy, I was petrified something would go wrong. It’s the trauma of fertility struggles and miscarriages. When Viviana was born - frankly - alive and healthy, I was in disbelief. A relief I cannot articulate," she candidly shares.
Battiste also wants to continue to speak out and support those who are continuing on complex fertility journeys.
"While Dean and I are extraordinarily lucky and over the moon with our daughter’s birth, I am very much thinking of all the women and men who have — and are — struggling with infertility," she notes. "There are so many fighting quietly,"
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.
