APA-Pretoria (South Africa) Over 1,700 babies were delivered at South Africa’s public health facilities on Christmas Day, according to health ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale on Wednesday.
Mohale said the country’s public hospitals delivered 1,708 infants on December 25 compared to 1,414 delivered in 2022.
“This number consists of 840 baby boys and 868 baby girls,” the official said.
Among the deliveries, 145 were by teen mothers – including a 15-year-old girl.
The latest tally came amid concerns about a rise in teen pregnancies over the years.
Gauteng had the highest number of Christmas Day deliveries at 387, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (255) and Western Cape (231), Mohale said.
Other provinces that registered significant numbers of births were Eastern Cape that had 221 new-borns, Limpopo (209), Mpumalanga (161), North West (121), Free State (76) and Northern Cape (47).
NM/jn/APA