Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital welcomes 7 New Year’s babies so far

The Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Gauteng has already welcomed seven New Year’s babies, born between midnight and 7am today (1 January 2023).

According to Gauteng Department of Health’s MEC spokesperson Tshepo Shawa, the maternity unit at the government-funded medical facility welcomed three girls and four boys.

MEC for Gauteng Health Department, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, paid a visit to the health facility early this morning to congratulate the new mothers and celebrate the birth of the country’s New Year’s babies.

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The MEC presented the mothers with gifts and encouraged them to register the babies at the Department of Home Affairs which was also based at the hospital, to get the babies their birth certificates.

She further encouraged them to take their little ones for immunisation against polio and measles at the local clinics and to breastfeed their new babies to ensure their steady development.  “They need to follow up on their monthly appointments for this and must be disciplined about it. This is a problem we are currently facing, where some mothers miss their dates to get their child vaccinated,” she said.

More babies coming

“We are expecting more babies being born at the facility later today. So we will have more New Year’s babies to celebrate.

“In a month, we see around 1450 to 1500 babies. I want to congratulate the doctors and nurses on the work they are doing. It is not an easy work [sic] to deliver a baby and to make sure those babies are healthy, as we can see,” the MEC told the media during an interview.

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The MEC also took the time to encourage the younger mothers to continue with their studies. “I did that because I know that once these children get their babies, they feel like their life stopped there. So I was telling them that its not the end of their life. They must continue going to school, but they must take care of those babies and protect them. And they must see to the development of the children.”

Last year, the country welcomed a total of 150 New Year’s babies.