POMONA, N.J. (AP) — Former Rhode Island congressman Patrick Kennedy and his wife are celebrating the birth of a daughter.
Nora Kara Kennedy was born Tuesday at a hospital in Pomona. She weighed 6 pounds and 11 ounces and measured 18 1/4 inches long, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Jennifer Tornetta said.
Mother Amy Kennedy and the baby were doing well, Tornetta said.
Patrick Kennedy is the son of the late Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated 50 years ago Friday. He said this has been a bittersweet week for his relatives as they remember his uncle but his daughter's birth has made the time "a whole lot sweeter."
Patrick and Amy Kennedy were married in July 2011 and live in Absecon, just southeast of Pomona. They have an 18-month-old son, Owen. Amy Kennedy also has a 5-year-old daughter, Harper, from a previous marriage.
Patrick Kennedy represented Rhode Island in the U.S. House of Representatives for 16 years. He left Congress in 2011 and since then has worked on several initiatives to improve mental health care, including One Mind for Research, an effort to improve funding for brain science and better coordinate research.
In October, he launched The Kennedy Forum, to bring mental health workers and advocates together to improve treatments for mental illnesses, addictions and intellectual disabilities.
Amy Kennedy is a school teacher.
AP-WF-11-20-13 0127GMT