Jacinda Ardern announced the arrival on Instagram today with a beaming picture of her and her husband with their new baby.

In the caption, she wrote: “Welcome to our village wee one.

“Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl that arrived at 4.45pm weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb)

"Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness. We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital.”

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has stepped in as acting prime minister and will run the country for the next six weeks while Ardern takes maternity leave.</s>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will now take six weeks off after having her first child. What have other powerful women done after having babies?

The Pakistani prime minister - who would have turned 65 the day Ms Ardern gave birth - is thought to be the only elected world leader before Ms Ardern to give birth while in office. She famously returned to work the day after having her second child in 1990, fearing the opposition would use the time to oust her. "The next day I was back on the job, reading government papers and signing government files," she recalled.

The former Yahoo chief executive caused a stir after coming back to work in less than a month after having twins in 2015. Following the birth of her first child in 2012, the American tech boss also took just two weeks before returning. "I understand I'm the exception," Ms Mayer said, arguing she didn't expect others to do the same.

The United States senator from Illinois, 50, made headlines by bringing her 10-day-old baby into the upper chamber while casting a vote in April. The appearance came a day after the senate overturned a long-standing rule banning newborns from the floor. "As tough as juggling the demands of motherhood and being a Senator can be, I'm hardly alone or unique as a working parent," she said.

The Revenue Minister was the first Australian cabinet member to have a baby while in office and had a cot set up next to her desk after the the birth of her second child last year. She continued to attend cabinet meetings despite taking maternity leave - breastfeeding during some of them (also a first). "I've always been pretty efficient with my time, with children it takes it to a new dimension," she told Fairfax Media.

The former world tennis number one sparked debate about maternity leave after losing her top rank for taking a year off to have a child. She recently returned to Grand Slam play unseeded and ranked 451. Miami Open director James Blake said of the situation: "It's not as if she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game. She had a kid, which we should all be celebrating."

* What's Ardern said about being a role model?

"I do not want to create a false impression that all women should be super-human or super-women. I am able to do what I'm doing because I have enormous support around me and it makes me quite privileged," she told TVNZ.</s>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been admitted to hospital for the birth of her first child. According to a statement fromt he Prime Minister's office, Ms Ardern has been taken to Auckland City Hospital. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will now take over as the country's Acting Prime Minister, but Ms Ardern insists she will be consulted on all major decisions during her maternity leave.</s>She worked until late into her pregnancy, regularly encountering members of the public who touched her stomach and passed on gifts.

“It’s been great,” she told reporters at her last major public event before giving birth. “New Zealanders are incredibly generous people and have been generous in their support of me regardless of the politics just as another human being going into a new stage of life.”

Jennifer Curtin, a professor of politics at the University of Auckland, said there was symbolic importance in the pregnancy in that it showed political parties around the world that it was fine to have younger women as candidates.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends an event in March.Hannah Peters / Getty Images

“What I think is valuable, if she becomes a role model, is the way in which she is normalizing the combination of motherhood and participation in the paid labor market, and in politics,” Curtin said.

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote.</s>New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has given birth to a daughter and posted a photo welcoming the healthy newborn “to our village”.

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has given birth to a daughter and posted a photo welcoming the healthy newborn “to our village”.

Ms Ardern posted a photo on her Instagram account showing her and partner Clarke Gayford with the baby at Auckland City Hospital. The girl arrived at 4.45pm weighing 7.3lb. “Welcome to our village wee one,” She wrote in the photo caption. “Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl.”

Welcome to our village wee one. Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl that arrived at 4.45pm weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb) Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness. We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital. She thanked everyone for their kindness and wishes. “We’re all doing really well,” she wrote. The pregnancy was followed around the world, with many hoping the 37-year-old would become a role model for combining motherhood with political leadership.

Former prime minister Helen Clark said it was a happy day for Ms Ardern and Mr Gayford and New Zealanders had taken the news of the pregnancy in their stride. “This is a sign of our maturity as a country and its acceptance that combining career and family is a choice which women are free to make,” she wrote.

“Let’s also celebrate Clarke as a modern man who is happy to be the full-time parent of a young child.” Congratulations to @jacindaardern & @NZClarke on the birth of their daughter 👶🏻today. What a proud day for Jacinda & Clarke & for us all. New life, new hope. Parenting arrangements are #genderequality in action. This is 21st C NZ. #ProudKiwi 🇳🇿 https://t.co/w52w8CJLSJ — Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) June 21, 2018 “For New Zealand, these events and the way our country has greeted them will be seen as inspirational by all who advocate for gender equality and women’s empowerment,” Ms Clark said.

Jennifer Curtin, a professor of politics at the University of Auckland, said there was symbolic importance in Ms Ardern giving birth as it showed political parties around the world that it was fine to have younger women as candidates.

She said women often tended to be older when they entered politics. In other fields, women have been combining motherhood and paid work for decades, but it has only recently become more manageable thanks to paid parental leave.

Deputy prime minister Winston Peters has taken over as acting PM. Ms Ardern plans to take six weeks of leave before returning to work. Under the arrangement, she will still be consulted on major decisions, including issues of national security. She has said she is confident the government will continue to run smoothly in her absence.

She said that after the birth, she hoped to have some quiet time to enjoy as a family. Asked earlier this month how the couple had been faring in their quest to choose a baby name, Ms Ardern responded: “Terribly. Do you have any suggestions?”</s>As New Zealand eagerly awaits the birth of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's baby today, media have started to gather outside Auckland City Hospital.

Ms Ardern's partner Clarke Gayford accompanied the her to hospital today - a wet and cold day in the City of Sails.

Ms Ardern arrived at hospital at 5.50amtoday, four days after her due date.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is now officially Acting Prime Minister while Ms Ardern is away on six weeks' maternity leave.</s>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to her first child, a girl, on Thursday, Ardern said in a posting on Instagram

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to her first child, a girl, on Thursday, Ardern said in a posting on Instagram

New Zealand Prime Minister welcomes birth of first child in heart-warming Instagram post

Ardern, 37, became New Zealand's youngest prime minister when she took office through a coalition deal last year after an inconclusive election, and now becomes the first woman in the country's history to give birth while in office.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has stepped in as acting prime minister and will run the country for the next six weeks while Ardern takes maternity leave, according to an agreement they published earlier. Ardern gave birth in Auckland Hospital, the country's largest public hospital, with her partner, television presenter Clarke Gayford, at her side.

Ardern is one of the few elected leaders to hold office while pregnant. Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990. The public has generally been supportive of the popular prime minister. New Zealand has long had a progressive reputation and was the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893 and Ardern is the country's third female prime minister.

Ardern found out she was pregnant on Oct. 13, just six days before she was propelled into the job when Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First Party, announced he was siding with her Labour Party in post-election negotiations.

Peters is a colourful political veteran who first entered Parliament in 1978 and has held senior positions in both centre-left Labour and centre-right National governments. Ardern had played down the chances of any disruption arising from her absence, saying she and Peters would be in regular contact.

"There actually hasn't really been a need to put down a plan ... We already talk about significant issues, that will just continue, we'll just be in different roles," she said in a interview with Fairfax media just before going on maternity leave.

Then, Gayford will take care of the baby and will travel with Ardern between their Auckland home and the capital, Wellington, as well on international engagements. Ardern worked until late into her pregnancy, regularly encountering members of the public who touched her stomach and passed on gifts such as 'onesies' and miniature rain boots, known as "gumboots".

"It's been great," she told reporters at her last major public event before giving birth. "New Zealanders are incredibly generous people and have been generous in their support of me regardless of the politics just as another human being going into a new stage of life."</s>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Becomes A New Mom

Ardern became the first sitting head of state to give birth in almost three decades. The baby girl weighed just over 7 pounds. Arden's pregnancy sparked a national conversation about working mothers.</s>
• Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand gave birth to a daughter on Thursday.
• She announced her pregnancy a few months after she took office.
• Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto was the first world leader to give birth in office, in Pakistan. But she didn’t take maternity leave, meaning that first goes to Ardern.
• She plans to take six weeks off work, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will cover for her.

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday, and is now the first ever world leader to be on maternity leave while in office.

Ardern plans to take six weeks of leave before returning to office, in which time her deputy, Winston Peters, will be in charge instead.

She has said that she will still be on major decisions, such as issues of national security, and will keep reading briefings while she is off, but will leave the day-to-day running of government to Peters.

At 37, Ardern is the world’s youngest female leader, and is the second elected world leader to give birth while in office.

Benazir Bhutto gave birth while serving as Pakistan’s prime minister in 1990, in a totally different political climate, where her opponents used her pregnancy as a reason to demand her dismissal. She didn’t take any time off after the birth.

Ardern posted a photograph of herself, her partner Clarke Gayford and her daughter on Instagram on Thursday, welcoming her new child: “Welcome to our village wee one.”

“Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness. We’re all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital,” she wrote.

In a statement, she also said: “I’m sure we’re going through all of the emotions new parents go through, but at the same time feeling so grateful for all the kindness and best wishes from so many people. Thank you.”

Ardern announced her pregnancy in January. She wrote on social media at the time: “We’ll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats. I’ll be Prime Minister AND a mum, and Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ and stay at home dad.”

Ardern became the leader of New Zealand’s Labour Party in September 2017, and was elected prime minister a few weeks later.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark welcomed the birth in an email to The Associated Press and said that New Zealanders had embraced Ardern’s decisions.

“This is a sign of our maturity as a country and its acceptance that combining career and family is a choice which women are free to make,” she wrote.

“Let’s also celebrate Clarke as a modern man who is happy to be the full time parent of a young child.”</s>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in labour and in hospital to give birth to her first child.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Ardern arrived at Auckland hospital, with her partner Clarke Gayford, to have her baby, early this morning.

The PM's office says there will be no further formal announcements from the Prime Minister’s office till Ardern and Gayford announce the birth of their baby.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern goes into labour with her first child. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is now Acting Prime Minister, and will be for six weeks while Ardern is on maternity leave.