MORE than 45 babies were born in KwaZulu-Natal on Christmas Day with province’s first baby being a boy weighing 3.5kg, who was born at the stroke of midnight at Osindisweni Hospital.

By 06:30 a total of 47 Christmas babies had been born, 21 boys and 26 girls. This joyous occasion was celebrated by the KZN Premier, Thami Ntuli, Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Mngadi and eThekwini Municipality mayor Cyril Xaba at the Victoria Mxenge Hospital (former King Edward Hospital) on Wednesday.

They visited the newborns and their mothers, presenting them and the staff with gifts. The joy was, however,  overshadowed by the fact that three of the mothers who gave birth to Christmas babies were 15 years old.

“It is highly disturbing that among the mothers giving birth today, we have three 15-year-olds, who gave birth at Emmaus, Hlabisa, and St Andrews Hospitals. This means these little girls fell pregnant at the age of 14, which is highly unacceptable. Two of these fathers are aged 19, while the third is a 23-year-old man,” said Simelane-Mngadi.

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She further raised concern about teenage pregnancy by highlighting that there was also a 16-year-old, two 17-year-olds and one 18-year-old that gave birth on Christmas Day.

“What concerns us is that this situation of girls falling pregnant at a young age is not a phenomenon that is unique to Christmas Day — it is something that happens on a regular basis and reflects a broader societal challenge. It is a big problem, as it robs young girls of their childhood, often forcing them into adulthood too soon. It also places their lives and those of these babies at risk,” added Simelane-Mngadi.

Her concerns were shared by Ntuli who reminded society that it is a criminal offence to engage in sexual activity with a minor child.

He said, “The news that there are 14- and 15-year-old children giving birth to babies and were impregnated by older men, we are worried; this shows that there’s something wrong in our society. Like many social ills that we have been addressing in the province, we need to also take a campaign forward and take it seriously to call upon families to raise children in a manner that will not expose themselves to such vulnerabilities. At the same time, we call upon the men to really be responsible and for society to play their role in reporting such incidents to police. Impregnating someone who is a minor is a criminal case and a serious one, it’s rape. They are in fact having intercourse with a child. I am encouraging parents to report such incidents to the police to open cases even, and if the parents are shy to do so, the neighbours who are witnessing this, they must go and report to the police.”

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