By Staff Reporter
QWAQWA – As Christians around the world marked Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ the Saviour, an 18-year old Phuthaditjhaba teenager had an extra reason to rejoice after becoming the first mother to give birth on Christmas Day in the Free State.
Reitumetse Tsotetsi delivered a baby girl weighing 2.64kg at exactly 00:02 on Christmas morning at Elizabeth Ross District Hospital. Her daughter was among 88 babies born across the province on Christmas Day.
According to a statement issued by the Free State Department of Health, Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae visited the maternity wards at National District Hospital and Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital in Bloemfontein.
Meanwhile, MEC for Health Monyatso Mahlatsi visited Senorita Ntlabathi District Hospital in Ladybrand and Phuthuloha District Hospital in Ficksburg.
At Phuthuloha District Hospital, the MEC was accompanied by Setsoto Local Municipality mayor Seipati Mbiwe.
Mahlatsi used the occasion to stress the importance of responsible choices, particularly among school-going youth, highlighting abstinence and the use of preventative measures such as Implanon, which can prevent pregnancy for up to three years.
“Newborn babies and their mothers were also presented with Christmas hampers to mark the occasion.
“Parents are urged to invest in exclusive breastfeeding and ensure children receive all immunisations, as these protect babies from preventable and deadly diseases and improve survival, especially during the first months of life,” the statement read.
Other MECs were deployed across the Free State to visit health facilities and extend Christmas wishes to newborns and their families.
