Babies born live on 'GMA' return to show over 20 years later
"GMA" made history by broadcasting live births on Feb. 6, 2001.
It was over 20 years ago, on Feb. 6, 2001, that "Good Morning America" made morning television history by taking viewers inside live births.
That morning, then-"GMA" co-anchors Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson helped narrate as five babies were born across three different hospitals in Texas and Massachusetts.
The following year, in 2002, "GMA" did it again, this time broadcasting the live births of six babies.
Looking back at the history-making moments, Gibson said it was "awe-inspiring" to be part of the babies' births.
"There is something about that magic moment, and it is magic when the baby is first there and everybody's getting the first look at a miracle, and so, yeah, I got emotional, totally unexpected," Gibson said. "We were all witnessing something very special and awe-inspiring."
Samantha Hornung, who delivered her son Jackson live on the show, said she appreciated the chance to share the birth with family members not able to be present, including her parents.
"It really just felt like sharing a moment of, really, love," Hornung said. "It was just one of those moments where, emotionally, I was just grateful to be able to share the experience with my parents."
Janice Johnston, a "GMA" producer at the time, was in the delivery room when Jacob Ryan Shamban was born at Methodist Hospital in Houston.
Johnston, now the executive producer of "20/20," said she remembers how intimate the birth was, despite it being shared on live TV.
"The emotion in the room when little baby Jacob was born was just incredible, because sure there were cameras there, but for that family, it was about the mom and the baby, and it was as though we weren't there," Johnston said. "And yet, all of America was there."
On Thursday, the babies, now adults, appeared live on "GMA" to share updates about where they are now.
Shamban, whose birth footage Johnston helped produce, now works in financial planning in La Crosse, Wisconsin. According to Shamban, his mom still has the "GMA" onesie he was gifted after his birth.
Kelsey Nolan, born in Boston in 2001, is now in school studying to be an occupational therapist. She said for years, her family would re-watch the "GMA" segment on her birthday.
Jackson Hornung, also born in Boston in 2001, is a professional baseball player. After graduating from Skidmore College, Hornung was drafted last year by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hornung said to this day he claims being born live on "GMA" as his "fun fact" about himself.
"A lot of people just have questions, 'Why did that happen? How did it happen?', so it kind of just goes into a better conversation from there," Hornung said.
Coraima Luna, born in 2001 at a Texas hospital, is still living in Texas, where she works as a supervisor teller at a bank. Luna said her nickname since birth has been "diva," based on the fact that she was born on live TV and still loves to be on camera.
"It's unbelievable to see how an action or something like this can shape your personality, but it really did," Luna said.
Harrison Shalar, born in 2002, now works as a hairstylist in San Francisco. He said his mom has said to him of his unusual birth, "It was just meant to be. It’s like you've always been a star.”
Another baby born on "GMA" in 2002, Virginia native Ken Jacob Weintraub, is now a student at the University of Michigan, where he is studying aerospace engineering.
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