Over 50 babies abandoned in Gauteng hospitals
56 babies have been left behind in Gauteng hospitals by their parents.
The worrying statistic was recorded between January to August 2022.
It was revealed by the Gauteng Department of Health in a written reply to the DA’s Jack Bloom in the provincial legislature.
This is a decline in the number of babies that were left at hospitals.
In 2021, 119 babies were abandoned while in 2020, 145 newborns were left at hospitals.
"The hospitals all identify the poor socio-economic background of mothers as a major reason for babies abandoned in their wards,” says Bloom.
Thelle Mogoerane Hospital was the worst affected, with 15 abandoned babies last year.
"It is very tragic that so many babies are abandoned in our hospitals, it is primarily poor socio-economic circumstances but also a broken family and teenage pregnancies. I think they need to have more preventative measures, particularly contraceptives, to prevent unwanted pregnancies but it is a great problem in fact with Covid-19 making things worse because it worsened people's socio-economic situation."
Other hospitals with significant abandoned babies include Tembisa hospital where 13 were left behind. At one of the largest hospitals in Gauteng, Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, the parents failed to take home 12 babies. Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg hospital also recorded 12 abandonments while Leratong hospital recorded 11 babies that were abandoned.
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