100+ Christmas babies born in SA
2011-12-25 14:30
Johannesburg - Over 100 Christmas babies have been delivered in the country so far, officials said on Sunday.
Forty-one babies were born in the Eastern Cape. This includes 20 boys and 21 girls, said provincial health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo.
The first one, Nonzuzo Toliwe, was born at midnight weighing 2.68kg. In Limpopo, the number of babies born since midnight stands at 28.
The first delivery occurred at Bela Bela hospital - a healthy baby girl weighing 3.5kg. Two other babies were born at the same time at 02.55 through caesarean section at Van Velden hospital. A premature baby, weighing 1.26kg, was born in Polokwane hospital. She is in a healthy condition.
Teen pregnancies
At the Mankweng hospital, the biggest boy born so far weighed a healthy 4.29kg. KwaZulu-Natal welcomed 27 babies thus far - 14 boys and 13 girls. Of these two were born to teenage mothers.
The first baby in the province came at a minute after midnight. The 2.8kg boy was born at Northdale hospital. A minute later, a 3.6kg baby girl was born at Addington hospital. Provincial health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo congratulated the overjoyed parents.
"The twinkle of a child's eye, the joy of a grandmother's laughter, and the love in the hearts of mothers and fathers for their children are all blessings that should be unwrapped on Christmas morning and then lived throughout the year," he said on his visit to the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital.
However, Dhlomo decried the high incidence of teenage pregnancy in the province, saying it was a problem that everyone must tackle. In Mpumalanga, the first of 44 babies in the province was delivered at Piet Retief hospital. She weighed 3.9kg.
Provincial spokesperson John Mlangeni said 36 of the newborns are boys and eight are girls.
So far, there were 21 babies delivered in provincial hospitals around Western Cape - 11 girls and 12 boys.
- SAPA
