Deputy Minister of Home Affairs urges parents to register baby births before leaving hospital

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The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza has called on parents to make sure that their baby’s birth is registered before they leave the hospital with the new addition to their family.

Nzuza has visited Eshowe Hospital on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast to hand over birth certificates to the eight mothers who gave birth on Saturday, the first baby being born at 2 o’clock.

The Eshowe Hospital, like around 140 other state hospitals countrywide, has a Home Affairs office on its premises.

Nzuza says if birth is not registered within 30 days, a cumbersome process has to be followed to establish if the child is a South African citizen to prevent fraud.

He says, “We really rely on the parents to make sure that when they come in, they ask: is there a home affairs office here? and then they also ask: do they come to make collections? Can I register my baby? And they have to carry their IDs with them because what we have observed is that sometimes they don’t register babies because they are unable because they don’t have their identity documents with them.”

KwaZulu-Natal

Altogether 45 babies have been born in the first 8 hours of Christmas day in KwaZulu-Natal. Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane, welcomed Christmas babies at Addington hospital in Durban.

She showered the newborn babies with gifts. Simelane says the first baby to arrive in KwaZulu-Natal, was born in Durban’s King Edward hospital.

She says, “We are pleased to announce that as of six am today (Saturday) we had welcomed 33 Christmas babies from healthcare facilities across the province but at 8am this morning the number had risen to 45, which is made up of 24 boys and 21 girls. The province’s first Christmas baby was a boy that was born at King Edward hospital at 12 o’clock sharp to a 39-year-old mother here at Addington hospital.”

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape has been blessed with 52 babies so far this Christmas.

Health Department MEC Nomakhosazana Meth visited the new moms and their bundles of joy at the Nelson Mandela Academic hospital in Mthatha where she donated toys and gifts.

Only two Christmas babies have been delivered at the hospital, while two other expecting moms are waiting for a cesarean section.

Meth says both moms have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

She says, “We are here today at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. We are receiving these bundles of joy that were received today, the parents that gave birth. Fifty-two in total, two from Nelson Mandela and unfortunately the mothers of the two in Nelson Mandela were found to be  COVID-19 positive, but they are fine. We are saying congratulations to all mothers.”

Limpopo

A 15-year-old teenager was the first person to give birth to a Christmas baby at a hospital in the Vhembe district of Limpopo.

Health authorities say the teenager gave birth to a baby boy.

The second teenage mother, 14, has also given birth to a baby girl at a hospital in the Waterberg district.

The authorities would not divulge the names of the hospitals where the teenagers have given birth.

Limpopo MEC for Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba says a total of 40 babies were born between midnight and six o’clock on Saturday morning.

Twenty-five of those are boys while 15 are girls.

Ramathuba has expressed disappointment that young girls are giving birth.

Additional reporting by Rudzani Tshivhase, Fundiswa Mhlekude and Nonkululeko Hlophe.

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