The national Department of Health has raised concern over a noticeable increase in teenagers giving birth after announcing that a total of 1 688 babies were born in public health facilities across the country on Christmas Day this year.
This marks an increase of 308 births compared to the 1 360 recorded on the same day in 2024.
Gauteng recorded the highest number of Christmas Day births at 428, followed by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) with 302.
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Other provincial figures were Eastern Cape (187), Limpopo (182), Mpumalanga (172), Western Cape (171), North West (95), Free State (88) and Northern Cape (43).
Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital recorded the highest number of deliveries at a single facility, with 38 newborns, followed closely by Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital with 35 births.
Both hospitals are based in Gauteng.
Teenage births
While the Christmas Day deliveries were welcomed, health authorities warned that the rise in births resulting from teenage pregnancies remains a pressing social challenge.
According to the Department of Health, the number of births to teenagers increased from 90 in 2024 to just over 130 this year.
This trend underscored the urgent need for intervention.
“This requires collaborative efforts by all stakeholders to intensify awareness campaigns on sexual reproductive health, which includes family planning, to empower adolescent girls and young women with health education to make well-informed health choices to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies,” the department said in a statement, adding that this could also lower the incidence of unsafe and life-threatening abortions.
READ MORE: Teens younger than 14 years among mothers who gave birth in 2024
KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane, who visited Ladysmith Provincial Hospital on Christmas Day, previously expressed deep concern over the ages of some of the mothers.
She revealed that three 15-year-old girls gave birth — two at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital and one at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital.
The fathers of these babies were reportedly aged 17, 18 and 19.
Additional cases included 16-year-old mothers who gave birth at GJ Crookes Hospital and Queen Nandi Regional Hospital.
While the father of the baby at GJ Crookes was 18 years old, it was revealed that the 16-year-old at Queen Nandi was impregnated by a 32-year-old man.
Eighteen-year-old mothers also gave birth at several facilities, including Victoria Mxenge, St Mary’s, Itshelejuba, Nkonjeni, GJ Crookes and Charles Johnson hospitals, further highlighting the scale of teenage pregnancies in the province.
Simelane stressed that the figures reflect a broader societal problem that requires urgent intervention beyond the health sector alone.
Birth registration
Meanwhile, the Department of Health reiterated its call on parents and families to register newborns with the Department of Home Affairs within 30 days of birth, noting that most public hospitals offer on-site birth registration services.
Mothers were further encouraged to breastfeed and to have routine immunisation to protect infants from vaccine-preventable diseases.
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