While many spent New Year’s Eve celebrating outdoors, new moms-to-be were in labour wards across the country, waiting for their bundles of joy. This year, on 1 January 2023, Gauteng welcomed 167 babies, 17 more than the province produced in 2022. During her visit to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital on New Year's Day, Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo–Ralehoko says the babies were born between midnight and noon.

NEWBORN BABIES

Seven babies were born at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, and four at the Dr. George Mukhari Academic Hospital while Tertiary hospitals alone delivered 25 babies. Tembisa Hospital has 20 babies, and Kalafong Hospital welcomed five and other babies were born at various facilities in the province, while academic hospitals in the province welcomed 15 babies.

GET THEM VACCINATED

Speaking to mothers at Chris Hani Baragwanath on New Year's Day, Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo–Ralehoko encouraged all the mothers who have just delivered their babies to use the Department of Home Affairs offices that are in-house at the hospitals to register their newborns before going home. “We also encourage them to breastfeed their babies for the first six months exclusively,” she says.“Breast milk contains all the nutrition and antibodies babies need to grow and protect them from illnesses. They must also ensure that their little ones are immunised regularly to protect them against diseases such as polio, hepatitis, measles, and meningitis."