Out of 395 babies that made their grand entrance into the world on Christmas and New Year’s Day, 88 were delivered by teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19.
A total of 187 babies were born on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day, 208 mother welcomed their bundles on joy.
Dora Nginza Hospital in Gqeberha and Frere Hospital in East London saw five babies — the highest number in the province — delivered during the period, while St Elizabeth’s in Lusikisiki and St Patrick’s in Bizana saw the delivery of four babies each.
Acting health MEC Bukiwe Fanta said this highlighted the ongoing challenges the province faced regarding teenage pregnancies, required urgent attention and comprehensive support.
“While we celebrate the joy of new life, we must also acknowledge the challenges that come with it, especially for young mothers.
“It is crucial that we provide adequate resources and support systems to ensure that these young women can successfully navigate motherhood while continuing their education and personal development,” Fanta said.
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola called for the state to investigate the pregnancies of underage children.
“Soon we will accept teenage pregnancy as a new normal if parents do not wake up.
“The state should investigate such incidents of pregnancy from these underage kids to determine if there is an adult involved as it could be discovered that a case of statutory rape has occurred and never been reported.
“We understand that there is confidentiality between a doctor and patient, but Section 28 of the constitution of SA gives powers in cases of this nature to act in the child’s best interest as per Section 54 of the Sexual Offences Act.
“We all have an obligation to report when we become aware of such incidents and failure to report is a criminal offence. Parents have a role to play here,” Majola said.
“We must equip our youth with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices.”
— Bukiwe Fanta
Gender-based violence activist Dr Lesley Ann Foster, from Masimanyane Women’s Rights International, said teenage pregnancy was not being handled appropriately.
“We are not doing prevention work enough, but it’s not just prevention work, it’s the work with boys and men and how they treat girls that is not getting enough focus,“ she said.
“We don’t respect and acknowledge young women as being in need of protection and care and keeping and protecting their dignity and protecting them as children, so we see that they are experiencing high levels of violence.
“[They] are children, whichever way we look at it. It’s horrendous that we don’t look after them and protect them and ensure men are not taking advantage of them.
“We need to be aware of that and we need to be cognisant of those drivers of gender inequality.
“It’s very sad that children are giving birth to children because it sets in place a cycle of poverty that won’t get broken because they still need parenting, guidance and direction.
“A lot of those young people will not remain in school, will not get a proper education and not be able to make their way through life, so they become a burden and challenge to society.
“It’s important for us as a society to understand and think about how we are going to do things differently.
“In the case of children who are having babies, there should be a perpetrator of rape and that perpetrator should be arrested and also the family held accountable for feeding and clothing and taking care of that child,” Foster said.
The DA’s Jane Cowley said they were deeply concerned about the figures.
“The Eastern Cape department of health has put strategies in place to attempt to curb teenage pregnancies and we have seen a slight reduction in numbers of teens giving birth over the past financial year.
“However, these numbers remain alarmingly high and the strategies are very poorly funded,” she said.
“One must bear in mind the long-term implications for the state each time a teenager gives birth.
“The odds of the young mother returning to school or college are dramatically reduced and most young moms end up depending on the state for child grants and social grants.
“Very seldom do these young moms go on to become financially independent from the state and contribute to the tax base that funds social services.
“Instead, the triple burden of poverty, inequality and unemployment becomes entrenched and perpetuates in the next generation.”
Cowley said another huge concern was that having sex with a minor was legally defined as statutory rape, and yet hardly any of the cases of statutory rape were ever reported to the police.
“This means that there are no consequences for the perpetrators of statutory rape which implies that this crime is condoned.
“The DA strongly urges the [department] and sister departments such as education, social development and the SAPS to collaborate more effectively with one another and with the private sector to aggressively advocate for better funding and for stronger legislation — and the implementation of such — to protect our girl children from the mostly dire consequences of teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood, so that they can live lives of dignity and reach their full potential.”
Fanta, who is the MEC for social development, said her department was committed to implementing programmes that educated young people about reproductive health and responsible parenting.
“We must equip our youth with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed choices.
“By doing so, we can help reduce the rates of teenage pregnancies and ensure that young mothers have access to the support they need,” she said.
Fanta urged the community to rally around the young mothers and their babies.
“It takes a village to raise a child, and we must all play our part in ensuring that these young families receive the support and love they need to thrive.”
Last January the Dispatch reported that 99,794 girls gave birth in the Eastern Cape’s public health facilities in the past five years.
More than 3,000 were between 10 and 14.
DAILY DISPATCH
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