Mpumalanga MEC for Health visits new moms at Evander Hospital
Sasekani Manzini is, however, concerned about the number of teenage mothers – 22 teenagers, including a 14-year-old girl, who had their babies on Christmas, while 30 girls of whom three are 15 years old, gave birth on the first day of 2025.
A total of 152 babies were born in Mpumalanga on Christmas Day and 154 on New Year’s Day. A baby boy born in Standerton at 0:02 was the first Christmas baby in the province.
The bundles of joy born on Christmas Day in Mpumalanga comprised 69 boys and 83 girls, while 78 boys and 76 girls were born on January 1. Standerton Hospital welcomed three boys and three girls on Christmas Day and five boys and four girls on New Year’s Day.
The Mpumalanga Department of Health MEC, Sasekani Manzini, visited the Evander Hospital on Christmas Day to welcome two boys and three girls born during the morning and to congratulate new mothers.
Evander Hospital also boasted with three boys and four girls born on New Year’s Day. She applauded the health workers, specifically the midwives in all three districts of the province, for delivering healthy babies on these two holidays.
Manzini ascribed the zero stillbirth rate in the province on Christmas to the health department’s work with pregnant women by encouraging the mothers to attend antenatal classes, especially those who began these classes before their 20th week of pregnancy.
“This contributed towards the reduction of the maternal and child mortality rate.”
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Manzini is, however, concerned about the number of teenage mothers – 22 teenagers, including a 14-year-old girl, who had their babies on Christmas, while 30 girls of whom three are 15 years old, gave birth on the first day of 2025.
Manzini directed the newly appointed director of forensic health care Services to consolidate all the teenagers who delivered so that this issue can be tackled with law enforcement agencies, traditional leadership and other stakeholders.
“We urge the community to report incidents of statutory rape, while government will intensify the programmes aimed at educating young people about teenage pregnancies and related dangers,” concluded Manzini.
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