A total of 106 babies were born on Christmas Eve in Dar es Salaam’s major hospitals, with male newborns dominating at 66 per cent.
PROUD MOTHERS; From right – Husna Mohamed, Amina Abdallah and Tiime Juma hold some of the 36 babies born during Christmas Eve at the Temeke Municipal Council Hospital in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.
Birth attendants at Temeke, Amana and Mwananyamala hospitals described this year’s trend as exceptional, saying previous experience has always showed female newborns to outnumber their male counterparts.
The children were born just before Christians joined their fellow faithful all over the world on Wednesday to commemorate the birth of Christ.
In the survey conducted by the ‘Daily News’ yesterday in three hospitals in the region shows that the number of boys was bigger compared to girls. At Temeke Hospital, 36 babies were born, out of whom 24 were boys and 12 girls. The Nurse-in-Charge, Ms Asha Kitumbuizi, saidsafely registered and the mothers were discharged after delivery.
At the Amana Hospital in Ilala Municipality, a total of 38 babies were born. A nurse-in-charge said that 26 of them were boys. She said that all mothers had a normal delivery and were discharged soon after they had gained strength.
According to the Nurse-in-Charge at the Mwananyamala Hospital in Kinondoni Municipality, Ms Tuswege Mwamwaja, a total of 42 babies were born during Christmas Eve, out of whom 24 were boys. “The numbers of boys born has very much increased compared to past Christmas eves,” she said.
Ms Mwamwaja added that all mothers in the hospital had a normal condition after birth where only four delivered through operation. She said that the mothers had a safe delivery due to improvement of health facilities and equipment in the hospitals.
The senior nurse asked the government and other stakeholders to support health sectors, especially in maternity wards, to reduce mother and child deaths in the country.
Meanwhile, NESTORY NGWEGA reports from Tanga that 11 newborns ‘entered the world’ in Tanga City during Christmas Eve. Out of them, six were born at Tanga’s Bombo Regional Referral Hospital, according to the nurse-on-night duty, Ms Beatrice Clifford.
She told the ‘Daily News’ that among the six new born babies, five were boys. She said deliveries went on well. “We thank God that there were no complicated cases during delivery,’’ she reported. At the Makorora health centre, four children were born out of whom three were females.
According to a nurse, Ms Nahda Kauta, all the children ‘are doing fine.’ At Ngamiani health centre, one male baby was born during the night, according to the midwife on duty, Ms Zuhura Hemed. She said deliverance went on well and the mother was discharged soon after.
By FATMA ABDU, Tanzania Daily News
