The province where the sun rises welcomed 33 babies on Christmas Day, a few of whom were lucky enough to be officially welcomed to the world by the province’s first resident.
Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu and Health MEC Sasekani Manzini left their families to go deliver goodies to the new mothers at the Witbank Hospital.
Ndlovu, who could not hide his excitement, said the moving moment felt like the new-borns were his own children.
Premier was there to welcome new-borns
“I’m an ecstatic father of 33 new-borns in total recorded in the province so far. We congratulate the mommies for the successful deliveries,” said Ndlovu of the last official count on Christmas day.
“As the provincial government we are here to support them.”
In Northern Cape, there were 25 new-born babies between midnight and midday.
Of that number, 14 were boys, with 11 girls. This marked a joyous Christmas day for the families of the new mothers in the province where giving birth could be life-threatening due to the prevalence of alcoholic foetal syndrome.
There were no such incidences in the recorded births.
The first baby in the province was delivered 30 minutes into Christmas Day, a boy.
Teenage mothers
But among the mothers were two teenagers, one 18 and another 16. Acting health MEC Mase Manopole said this was highlighting the important need for maternal support in the face if rampant teenage pregnancy in the country.
The MEC congratulated all the new mothers for their brand new bundles of joy. They are lucky to share a birthday with Jesus Christ.
“We celebrate with the new families who have been blessed with new life on Christmas Day. This is the testament to the commitment and dedication of our healthcare professionals. They continue to work tirelessly during the festive season to ensure safe deliveries and quality maternal care,”said Manopole.
