Teenage pregnancies and drugs are putting a huge strain on Eastern Cape hospitals, according to health authorities.
Health MEC Meth revealed that 17,617 girls had given birth in hospitals in the province between April 2022 and March 2023.
Of the total, 553 were aged between 10 and 14, while the remainder were between 15 and 19.
“It is giving us sleepless nights,” said Meth, who was speaking at the handing over a contractor for the R103m refurbishment of Nessie Knight Hospital in rural Qumbu recently
“When underage children engage in unprotected sex, that not only puts them at risk of getting pregnant, but it also increases the risk of them contracting diseases like HIV/Aids.
“When they give birth, a number of these babies end up suffering from malnutrition as some of these young mothers are unable to breastfeed them.”
She said this often led to more health-related problems.
Meth said in some instances, the new mothers could not take care of their babies.
They left them with their grandmothers, and sometimes left school to try to find employment despite not being educated.
Meth urged young people to consider using contraceptives, saying condoms were freely available at public clinics, or abstain from sex.
In the OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo districts, the department had facilitated the support of the UN Population Fund.
The fund was working closely with the education department and the Imbumba Yamakhosikazi non-profit to encourage behavioural change among teenagers.
Last year, the Dispatch reported that at least 20,500 girls, the youngest just nine years old, had given birth in the OR Tambo district since 2019.
At the time, Meth described the statistic as shocking and alarming, particularly because nine-year-old girls’ bodies were not mature enough to be pregnant and deliver.
She said teenage pregnancies were a social-ill that needed to be declared a health emergency.
Speaking at the Nessie Knight event, provincial health acting deputy director-general for clinical services Dr Mtandeki Xamlashe told community members that hospitals were battling to find enough beds for pregnant teenagers and young drug addicts.
“Hospitals were not built for drugs and teenage pregnancy.”
Meanwhile, Meth implored young people to focus on their studies.
“We want children to focus on getting an education instead of engaging in sex, which has lifetime consequences,” she said.
However, Eastern Cape child rights activist Petros Majola said it was not enough for the health department to produce statistics on teen pregnancies.
Follow-up work should be done to establish who had impregnated these young girls.
“Go deep and find out who the fathers are. In SA, the consent age for sex is 16 upwards,” Majola said.
“If it is found that some of the fathers are older men, we want to hear how many criminal cases have been opened against them.”
He said the statistics were staggering and that no 10-year-old should be referred to as a mother.
“This means there are quite a number of mothers who should be in school but now they have to focus on their babies.
“Parents have a role to play in instilling positive values in their children to help fight this problem,” Majola said.
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