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Gauteng health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko congratulated mothers and welcomed their newly born bundles of joy who are born on Christmas day at Sebokeng hospital.
The MEC used this time to also advise the parents on the importance of using the in-house Home Affairs offices to register their babies immediately after birth.
The Department of Home Affairs has in place an early-bird registration programme inside hospitals which allows mothers to register their children’s birth immediately after giving birth.
“Most of those I have seen are new mothers and the interesting thing is that all of them are breastfeeding, which is something that we are encouraging to mothers that they must breastfeed their children.
“But then, again, we are indicating the importance of taking their children to the clinic especially when they are still young.
“We have a booklet which they are given whilst at the hospital working with the department of home affairs because when they leave already they have their children’s birth certificate, but that road to health is the one that is going to assist us to ensure that they go through the immunisations.
“As a result of being new mothers, there are classes that are made available by nurses and doctors in terms of how to handle the baby and breastfeed,” Nkomo-Ralehoko stated.
She further added that those [mothers] that are still in school have pledged to go back and continue with their studies.
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About 194 babies were born between midnight and midday on Monday.
Academic hospitals delivered forty one babies with Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital accounting for twenty two deliveries, followed Steve Biko Academic Hospital with seven babies.
Tertiary Hospitals delivered a total of twenty babies with Tembisa Hospital accounting for 16 and Kalafong for four deliveries.
Regional and District Hospitals delivered eighty one babies while Community Healthcare Centres delivered forty nine babies.
More baby boys were born on Christmas Day in 2022, out of an overall total of 1414 which consists of 746 males and 668 females.
Gauteng province accounted to 30% of the total number of babies born in this special day across the countries and this translates into 432 babies.
The number also consists of a set of triplets safely delivered at Middleburg Hospital in Mpumalanga by a 33 year-old mother.
Amongst the teenage mothers include a 13 year-old mother who delivered a healthy baby from health facility in Buffalo city in the Eastern Cape.
