Dunoon gets its share of four Christmas babies out of 188 in the province
Some Western Cape parents had double holiday celebrations as they welcomed their newborn babies to the world on Christmas and on New Year’s Day.
There were 188 babies born on Christmas at provincial health facilities, and 192 on New Year’s Day. Of these, four Christmas babies were born at Dunoon Community Health Centre and three babies were born in the same facility on New Year’s Day.
On 26 December, provincial health department spokesperson Callan Riddles stated for the 188 Christmas babies, 122 were boys and 66 were girls.
Riddles stated the first, a baby girl, was born at exactly midnight at Groote Schuur Hospital to mother Stella Masunda. At Groote Schuur a minute later, at 00:01, a second Christmas baby, also a girl, was born to mother Miché Prins.
Two sets of twins also made their arrival. The first set, two girls, were born at 4.30pm at Tygerberg Hospital to mother Elvina Amos.
On 2 January, Riddles announced the birth of 192 babies born on New Year’s Day at Western Cape public health facilities, of which 94 were boys, and 98 were girls.
She stated the first New Year’s Day baby was a boy, born at Mitchells Plain Hospital at 00:25 to mother Ashiekia Elli.
She stated two sets of twins were also born, one set at New Somerset Hospital, and the other at Tygerberg Hospital.
“We congratulate all new parents on the birth of their babies on this special day. Our message to all new parents is that of the importance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (since inception to two years old). Provide your baby with a safe environment and good nutrition. Make sure their immunisations are up to date and that you play an active role in their development by talking to them, playing with them, and supporting them to reach their milestones. The Department of Health looks forward to joining you on this journey,” she stated.