By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
South Africa welcomed hundreds of Christmas babies this year, with the number sitting at 714 as of midday, according to the Department of Health.
According to the department’s figures, Gauteng recorded the most Christmas births (217) by noon. It was followed by the Eastern Cape (106), Limpopo (88), Mpumalanga (87), KwaZulu-Natal (74), the North West (53), the Northern Cape (25), and the Free State and Western Cape (32 each).
The first Christmas baby of 2025 was born at Elim Hospital in Limpopo at exactly midnight, followed by births at Tonga Hospital in Mpumalanga and Elizabeth Ross District Hospital in the Free State, both recorded at 12.02am.
Reitumetse Tsotetsi (18) from Phuthaditjhaba, Free State gave birth to a baby girl weighing 2.64 kg.
KwaZulu-Natal first Christmas babies were born at Osindisweni Hospital, and at Vryheid Hospital respectively, on the stroke of midnight. A boy weighing 2.73kg was born to a 19-year-old mother at Osindisweni; while Vryheid Hospital welcomed a girl weighing 2.42kg, who was born to a 25-year-old mother.
A total of 217 newborns were delivered at public health facilities across Gauteng during the first 12 hours.
Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko handed out hampers to new mothers and their newborns at Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus, East of Johannesburg.
She expressed joy with the maternity ward staff for ensuring successful deliveries.
The hampers given to the mothers consist of baby bathtubs, towels, feeding supplies and other essentials.
Nkomo-Ralehoko said she was hoping there would be no teenagers among the mothers across the province.
“I am worried about that, but we always have the files of the mothers who have given birth, those young ones especially. What we do is to encourage them and try to get counselling sessions for them, because they really need that. Some get children at the age of 13 or 14 years. I am happy that here, we did not get that.
“The youngest mother here is 26 years old, and I pray that across the province, we will not have any children delivering today or who delivered yesterday,” said Nkomo-Ralehoko.
She said Gauteng has a working teenage pregnancy strategy that has been implemented and has led to a significant drop in teenage pregnancies in South Africa’s most populous province.
Nkomo-Ralehoko added all 37 hospitals in the province have home affairs officials on site now to work with the parents of newborns.
The MEC said she is pleased with how quickly home affairs staffers were able to work with the new mothers on Christmas Day to ensure the registrations of these births.
Officials cautioned that the figures are provisional, as they only reflect babies born between midnight and midday on Christmas Day. Final totals may change as more births are recorded throughout the day.
The department also commended frontline healthcare workers for remaining on duty during the festive season.
“We commend the tireless health workers across the country for ensuring the safety of both the mothers and newborns, “the statement read.
The department reaffirmed its long-term commitment to maternal and child healthcare, saying it “remains committed to strengthening maternal, neonatal and child health services to ensure that mothers and newborns receive dignified, safe and quality care”.
This story has been updated with latest figures from the Department of Health.