Authorities and NPOs are urging young people who can’t take care of their newborns to place their children up for adoption instead of abandoning them.
They were reacting to the news of a newborn, who was left for dead in a refuse bag at a dumping site in Amanzimtoti, outside Durban.
According to the Department of Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal, the infant was found by a community member. The child, who is believed to have been just a couple of hours old, is now safe a hospital.
The #Keready Youth Health Movement, Dr. Sivuyisiwe Jekwa, says pregnant Yires who find themselves in a predicament and can’t keep their baby can seek help at any public health institution or consider termination, if their pregnancies are still in early stages.
Authorities have been expressing concern with the number of babies being abandoned.
In March, the Department of Social Development reported that more than 250 children were left abandoned last year. According to the department, these incidents are prevalent in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Western Cape.
On the other hand, the Door of Hope Children Mission, which offers safe drop offs of unwanted babies, has said about 3 500 babies were abandoned every year in Mzansi, and for every baby found alive, two were found dead.
Research from the National Library of Medicines indicates that 35% of pregnancies among 15–19-year-olds from sub-Saharan Africa were unplanned, unwanted or untimed. The teenagers involved were also found to have been in unstable relationships.
“Only about two thirds of these unintended pregnancies end in childbirth, while a third results in unsafe abortions. A study conducted in Soweto, South Africa, found that 23% of pregnancies carried by 13–16-year-old young women and 14.9% in the 17–19-year age range ended in abortion,” the report added.
Written by: Nokwazi Qumbisa
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