NZ Prime Minister Ardern enters hospital for birth of first child

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was admitted to hospital in Auckland for the birth of her first child on Thursday, according to a statement from her office.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was now acting prime minister and would run the country for the next six weeks while Ardern took maternity leave, the statement said.

Ardern, 37, took office as New Zealand's third female prime minister last year and announced in January that she was expecting a baby with her partner, television fishing show presenter Clarke Gayford.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; editing by John Stonestreet)