Over 100 Christmas babies have been delivered in the country so far, officials said on Sunday.
|||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 spokesman 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 Ä a health baby girl weighing 3.5kg.
Two other babies were born at the same time at 2.55am through caesarean section at Van Velden hospital.
A premature baby, weighing 1.26kg, was born in Polokwane hospital. She is in a healthy condition.
At the Mankweng hospital, the biggest boy born so far weighed a healthy four point 29 kilograms.
KwaZulu-Natal welcomed 27 babies so far Ä fourteen boys and thirteen 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, Dlomo decried the high incidence of teenage pregnancy in the province, saying it was a problem that everyone must tackle. - Sapa