‘I’m hoping there will be no teenage mothers’ — Gauteng Health MEC during Christmas Day baby celebrations

Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko is spending Christmas Day at Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital, where she is celebrating the birth of babies on the day and engaging with new mothers.

The MEC is welcoming newborns delivered at the hospital this morning and presenting mothers with gift hampers as part of the Gauteng Department of Health’s Christmas Day outreach. The visit forms part of the department’s efforts to promote maternal and child health.

Nkomo-Ralehoko is using the visit to engage parents in newborn care, focusing on the importance of breastfeeding and timely immunisation.

Parents are encouraged to register their babies with the Department of Home Affairs immediately after birth to ensure access to essential services from birth.

The Gauteng Department of Health’s Christmas Day celebrations started at around 7 am at Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus, east of Johannesburg.

Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika at the hospital, Nkomo-Ralehoko said she was hoping there would be no teenagers among the mothers across the province.

"I am worried about that, but we always have the files of the mothers who have given birth, those young ones especially. What we do is to encourage them and try to get counselling sessions for them, because they really need that. Some get children at the age of 13 or 14 years. I am happy that here, we did not get that.

"The youngest mother here is 26 years old, and I pray that across the province, we will not have any children delivering today or who delivered yesterday," said Nkomo-Ralehoko. 

She said Gauteng has a working teenage pregnancy strategy that has been implemented and has led to a significant drop in teenage pregnancies in South Africa's most populous province.

The MEC highlighted that teenage girls who deliver babies, in majority of cases, are victims of rape and the provincial authorities always reports the cases to police and prosecutors.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

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