This new year, it was girls who outnumbered the boys when a tally of births was conducted by lunchtime at public health facilities across Gauteng on the first day of 2019.
The provincial department of health registered 106 births – with 37 boys and 69 girls.
Speaking at Mamelodi hospital in Tshwane, MEC for health Gwen Ramokgopa encouraged new mothers to focus on giving their babies the best in life, the department said in a statement.
“The birth of a new baby is a special moment in most families, take care of your kids and make sure that they receive all the necessary healthcare they need and remember that the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life are crucial, and the baby should be handled with utmost care,” said Ramokgopa.
Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital had the highest number of babies with 22 deliveries followed by Kalafong hospital with 13.
Siyabonga Cwele – Home affairs minister, who also visited new mothers at Mamelodi hospital, said the partnership with provincial and local governments was key in making certain that all newborn babies were registered within a period of 30 days.
“Mothers look very happy and their babies are healthy and strong. Our aim as government is to ensure that babies are registered and issued with birth certificates shortly after birth for collection of vital statistics which are important for planning and service delivery,” said Cwele.
