KZN welcomes 341 New Year's Day babies amid concerns over teen mom trend

KwaZulu-Natal’s youngest mother, whose baby is among the province’s 341 New Year’s Day births, is 15 years old while the father is the same age.

On Sunday, health MEC Nomagugu Simelane and premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube visited the Harry Gwala Regional Hospital in Pietermaritzburg to welcome newborns.

The provincial health department said 179 girls and 162 boys were born.

eThekwini district had the highest number at 109, followed by Umgungundlovu  at 39.

But the trend of girls under 18 giving birth has cast gloom over the joyous occasion.

“Addington Hospital had the province’s first New Year’s baby, a boy weighing 3.4kg. He was born exactly at midnight, to a 17-year-old mother. The baby’s father is 19 years old,” said Simelane.

“Worryingly, the province’s youngest mother is a 15-year-old girl, who gave birth to a baby girl, at Port Shepstone Hospital. The father of her baby is also 15.

“We also have two 16-year-old mothers who gave birth at Queen Nandi and Nkandla hospitals respectively. The father of the baby born at Nkandla is 23 years old, while the age of the father of the baby born to the 16-year-old at Queen Nandi Memorial Hospital is unknown at this stage.”

Simelane expressed concern about the trend of young girls falling pregnant.

“If it happens consistently every Christmas and New Year’s Day, as we have seen, it clearly means it’s probably happening every day of the year. It means more girls are placing their own health, and that of their unborn babies, in jeopardy by falling pregnant too early.”

She said it was “not normal” for girls to engage in sex at such an early age and “should never be allowed”.

“These are children. They are nowhere near ready for the responsibilities that come with bringing a child into the world.

“We can never overemphasise the risks girls are exposed to when they fall pregnant. Not only are they in danger of potentially fatal pregnancy-related ailments, but their prospects of fulfilling their potential as human beings are considerably compromised.

“In the case of the 16-year-old impregnated by the 23-year-old, that child was 15 when she fell pregnant. That constitutes statutory rape. At 22 years, [the father] should have known this was unacceptable. How much longer are we going to allow this sort of thing to happen?

“While we will continue our efforts to fight teenage pregnancy, we again call on parents, guardians, educators and community leaders to have open and frank conversations with their children about the benefits of abstinence and responsible sexual behaviour,” said Simelane.

Dube-Ncube said the lives of the teenagers who became mothers have been ruined.

“We encourage young people to abstain from sex or to use condoms.

“We call on law enforcement officers in cases of statutory rape to move swiftly and arrest whoever the offender is. Under-age sexual activity is unlawful and should not be condoned.”

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