Gauteng welcomes 396 New Year’s babies amid teen pregnancy crisis

Mapaballo Borotho

Gauteng welcomed 396 babies on New Year’s Day, including two sets of twins.
The Health MEC used the occasion to highlight the growing crisis of teenage pregnancy.
More than 20 000 teen pregnancies were recorded in the province in 2024 alone.

The Department of Health in Gauteng welcomed 396 babies who were born on New Year’s Day across all public health facilities in the province. The newborns include 198 boys and 198 girls, among them two sets of twins.

Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko visited Leratong Hospital on 1 January 2026 to celebrate the arrival of these bundles of joy, where gift hampers were handed over to new mothers.

She was joined by the founders of Future4Baby NPO, who donated pre-loved baby items to the hospital.

“These items will assist in caring for abandoned children in hospitals, highlighting the critical need for community support in addressing this issue,” she said.

During the visit, the MEC also addressed the issue of teenage pregnancy in the province, stressing that everyone, including religious leaders and traditional healers, needs to play a role in preventing it.

In 2024 alone, Gauteng recorded more than 20 000 cases of teenage pregnancy, with 521 babies born to mothers under the age of 14.

During the same period, at least 4 000 girls aged between 10 and 19 underwent termination of pregnancy.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said the alarming trend points to a growing public health challenge that requires urgent intervention.

“A child giving birth to another child is a problem because that is something that we need to deal with in society. Our strategy is to bring all stakeholders together to address this issue.

“In two weeks, we are going to hit the ground running, going to schools and talking about what needs to be done,” she concluded.