The battle for which province will produce the highest number of New Year’s babies continues. This as experienced and new mothers give birth to their bundle of joy from midnight onwards.
Last year 1 764 babies were born at various healthcare facilities across the country on New Year’s Day. Of these 894 of those babies were girls, as compared to 870 boys.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal led the country with the most babies born on New Year’s Day last year.
This Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube will join Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane in welcoming the province’s New Year’s babies at Harry Gwala Regional Hospital, formerly known as Edendale Hospital, in Pietermaritzburg.
North West records 35 births
A total of 35 births have been recorded in the North West, 23 are boys while 12 are girls.
The district with the most births is Bojanala, which comprises the likes of Rustenburg and Brits. It has recorded 14 births.
According to the North West Health Department, the first New Year’s baby was born at nine minutes after midnight, at the General Delarey hospital in Lichtenburg. The department says the number may be updated during the course of the day.
Bara welcomes seven babies
South Africa’s biggest hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath, saw seven bouncing babies greeting the new year with cries, smiles and probably hunger pangs.
Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visited the hospital to welcome them into the world. The MEC celebrated with their mothers and offered advice to teen mothers.
“We have some gifts that we are going to give you as mothers. The gifts are for you and your kids, you must enjoy the children and take care of them. Do not drop out of school because you have a child. Because that’s the problem you make to say not that I have a child you decide that I’m not going back to school.”
Mpumalanga records 42 births
Forty-two New Year babies have been born in different hospitals in Mpumalanga. The babies consist of 22 boys and 18 girls.
MEC for Health, Sasekani Manzini, visited Mapulaneng hospital to welcome one of the babies. The hospital delivered only a single baby boy.
Manzini pleaded with the mothers to take care of the newborn babies.
“We want to urge them to take their children to the primary health care so that they can get the vaccines because currently, we have an outbreak of measles so we want to ask them to take them for vaccine and of serious concern is that five of them are for teenagers.”
