Durban – A total of 1 803 babies were born at public hospitals around the country on New Year’s Day.
The number of newborn girls totalled 930 while 873 boys were born.
The Department of Health said this was a 22% increase from Christmas babies.
Gauteng had the highest number with 420 babies born, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 341, and the Eastern Cape with 239.
The lowest number of babies – 45 were born at hospitals in the Northern Cape.
In KZN the youngest mother was 15-years old, and the first baby to be born at the stroke of midnight was to a 17-year-old girl.
“The department is concerned with the high rate of teen mothers and this requires all hands on deck from the government, families and other community structures to reduce school dropout which hinders formal education for many adolescent girls and young women, making them vulnerable to poverty,” said Foster Mohale Health Departmental spokesperson.
Mohale said over 100 teenagers from the age of 13 years were among the mothers who delivered their babies on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day during this festive season.
“Teen pregnancy and early motherhood contribute to interruption of formal education, if not definite dropout by adolescent girls as some of them struggle to strike a balance between parenting and education due to lack of supporting family structures,” he said.
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