Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla has confirmed that South Africa has welcomed a total of 411 babies born on New Year’s Day.
According to the minister, Gauteng was the biggest contributor with 112 bundles of joy who were welcomed by provincial health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital on Monday.
On Monday, Phaahla held a media briefing at the GJ Crookes Hospital and was accompanied by KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
Simelane has also called for interventions to curb teenage pregnancies after the province saw 10 teenage mothers giving birth in that province.
“We are pleased, Minister, that as of 6am today, the province has welcomed 58 New Year babies from health-care facilities from across the province ... However, by 9.30am, the number had risen to 84, made up of 48 girls and 36 boys. This is a trend that we saw during the Christmas Day but by the end of the day, we had more than 250 babies,” Simelane said.
Simelane said the province recorded 17 teenage mothers, adding that the youngest mother recorded by the province was 14.
“One of the mothers gave birth at 14 years old and that means she was pregnant at 13 years old. That is a serious cause for concern. We raised this matter during Christmas, but we continue to see that particular trend and we think that as society, we need to take responsibility for this kind of thing, because it is a serious worry.
“I am glad the mayor is here because that means we are going to have to have joint programmes to talk about such matters,” she said.
According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the province welcomed 112 babies, with 59 of those being boys and 53 girls.
Last year, Gauteng recorded 167 babies delivered on January 1, 2023.
Nkomo-Ralehoko presented mothers with gift packs during her visit at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in the north of Pretoria.
She urged mothers to make use of in-house Department of Home Affairs facilities to register their children for birth certificates within the province’s health-care facilities.
“It’s important that we further encourage the mothers to embrace exclusive breast-feeding of their babies for six months ... They must also follow the ‘Road to Health’ booklet to ensure that their bundles of joy are immunised at regular intervals to protect them against diseases such polio, hepatitis, measles and meningitis,” she said.
The Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness announced that it welcomed the birth of 38 babies between midnight and 1am at Western Cape public health facilities on January 1. The provincial department said of the babies born on New Year’s Day, 14 are boys and 24 girls.
According to Independent Media, Limpopo welcomed 55 newborn babies at hospitals across the province on New Year’s Day, with the MEC for health in the province, Phophi Ramathuba, having once again raised her concerns over the number of teenage mothers.
Ramathuba said of those who gave birth, eight were teenagers between 15 to 19 years old.
“A 15-year-old has become a mother, and a single mother, for that matter. We are expecting her to look after life when she still needs to be guided and looked after,” Ramathuba said.
The Eastern Cape reported that it had welcomed 52 babies, while the Free State welcomed 17 babies and North West recorded 33: 20 boys and 13 girls.
The Star