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Silindile Mkhize with her twins on New Years Day.
- Health workers gave birth to hundreds of newborn babies on New Year’s Day.
- Most were born in Gauteng. KwaZulu-Natal had the second highest number of deliveries.
- The usual celebrations for mothers and their newborns were canceled in the hospitals of the Free State due to the blockade of level 3 regulactions.
After what has been a tumultuous 12 months for South Africans, hundreds of happy and healthy babies ushered in the new year.
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal gave birth to the majority of the New Years babies. Gauteng received 225 bundles of joy compared to KZN’s 140.
Most of the babies born in Gauteng (161, to be precise) were born in district hospitals and clinics. Academic hospitals and other large hospitals delivered 64 newborns.
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto gave birth to 15 babies, 22 were born at Tembisa Hospital, Kalafong and George Mukhari Hospitals gave birth to nine babies each, Steve Biko Academic Hospital had two deliveries and seven babies were born at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Authorities said 121 babies were boys and 104 girls.
In KZN 77 boys and 63 girls were born. A jubilant mother, Slindile Mkhize, gave birth to twins at Nkonjeni Hospital. He has two grown children, one 15 and the other 12.
“I am grateful for the kind nurses who treated me well. I have named my babies Siyamthanda and Lethukuthula. I am very happy. I hope everyone started the new year in peace, despite this Covid-19 disease,” she said.
READ ALSO | More than 200 babies were born in Gauteng at Christmas noon
KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu urged mothers to breastfeed.
“The health and well-being of babies is something that we take very seriously at the KZN health department. We therefore urge all new mothers in the province to ensure that their babies are exclusively breastfed. for at least the first six months of their lives.
“We know this is not always possible, but they should try because breast milk has important health benefits, such as strengthening the baby’s immune system. It also creates a strong bond between mother and baby,” Simelane-Zulu said in a statement. .
In the Free State, health workers gave birth to 30 babies. The usual celebrations for mothers and their newborn babies in hospitals were not held due to Level 3 closure regulations, Health MEC Montseng Tsiu said.
“This year, the department resolved to suspend non-essential visits to health facilities. This has had a negative impact on the way we receive our new babies, but contributes to life-saving non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and physical, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“It has become essential that we consider all efforts to save human lives against this deadly virus, including making painful decisions that may make others uncomfortable,” Tsiu said.
Mpumalanga received 69 newborns, including 37 boys and 32 girls.
The first baby was born at Themba Hospital in Mbombela, Health MEC Sasekani Manzini said.
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