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"Shakira has given birth to her first child. The popstar and Barcelona defender Gerard Piqu\u00C3\u00A9 welcomed baby boy Milan into the world today (January 22) at 9:36pm in Barcelona, Spain.  [Shakira and Piqu\u00C3\u00A9 in promotional shot for UNICEF] He weighed approximately 6lbs 6oz, with mother and son both said to be in &amp;quot;excellent health&amp;quot;. A post on Shakira&amp;#039;s official website confirmed the birth, explaining: &amp;quot;The name Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn), means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious; and in Sanskrit, unification.&amp;quot; It added: &amp;quot;Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth.&amp;quot;  [Shakira and Piqu\u00C3\u00A9 pose together in Twitter photo] The birth - reportedly via caesarean - had first been announced by the popstar&amp;#039;s Fund PiesDescalzos (Barefoot Foundation) on Twitter, which posted: &amp;quot;The team of the Barefoot Foundation are happy for the birth of Milan! Shaki We love you,&amp;quot; before the tweet was swiftly deleted. According to El Pais, Piqu\u00C3\u00A9 was the only man present for the birth, as the Colombian singer had asked that the medical team be composed solely of women.  [Ultrasound picture of baby previously shared by Shakira] Earlier today, the 35-year-old tweeted: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d like to ask you all to accompany me in your prayers on this very important day of my life.&amp;quot;  View all of today&amp;#039;s best celebrity pictures - Photo gallery:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a453012/shakira-gerard-piqu-welcome-baby-boy-milan-piqu-mebarak/>