The stork was kept busy at hospitals around the Western Cape as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day.
|||Cape Town - As 2013 delivered a clean slate for many of us, it also delivered the prospect of dirty nappy-changing for 21 new parents in the Western Cape.
The provincial health department’s Emerantia Cupido said that by 9am on Tuesday, 21 babies had been born at 10 hospitals across the region.
The first baby, born to Nozuko Pangwayo and her fiancé Ayanda Hlongwa, arrived at 12.07am at Groote Schuur Hospital. The boy, who was born by Caesarean section, weighed 2.9kg and was 50cm tall.
“Both the mommy and the boy are fine,” Cupido said.
By 10am on Tuesday, Mowbray Maternity Hospital had the most recorded New Year baby births, with six newborns, while Somerset Hospital welcomed four New Year babies.
A total of 57 babies were born across Gauteng during the first hours of 2013. Charlotte Maxeke in Johannesburg had the most visits from the stork, with nine girls and six boys delivered, said Health MEC Hope Papo. Mamelodi Hospital welcomed 11 babies and Chris Hani Baragwanath delivered 10 new lives.
Seven babies each were born at Kafalong and Yusuf Dadoo hospitals, while Bertha Gxowa gave busy attention to the four babies it brought into the world. Steve Biko Hospital had two new girls and a boy sleeping in its wards on Tuesday.
“We congratulate all the mothers who gave birth today and encourage them to take good care of their babies and ensure they receive the necessary immunisation,” said Papo.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape added 81 babies to its nurseries, including twin girls born at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
Preliminary figures in Limpopo indicated that 95 babies had made their way into the world in 2013 so far, said health spokeswoman Sinenhlanhla Gumede. - Cape Argus