Our Gift
28 May 2026 | Shannen Harte
We were visited by a young girl (16) with her one-day old baby boy Siphosethu "Our Gift" who had just been born that very morning. She had given birth at home with the help of her mother and came to see us only hours after her baby was born. We were very surprised and immediately sent her into our Primary Healthcare Clinic so that Sister Mchunu could assess her and the baby and make sure that they were okay. It was recommended that she go straight to a nearby hospital so that she could be checked for safety reasons. We provided transport for mom and baby and while they were visiting the hospital we arranged a baby care pack and a postpartum care pack for the mom. She also mentioned that her breastmilk had not yet come in so we provided the mom with an infant starter formula.
With this girl now being a teen mom, we needed to intervene and help her determine the way forward, especially with her still being in school. We recommend that she attend our baby wellness clinic on Tuesdays so that we can monitor Siphosethu's health, which she agreed to do. We also gave her health education and provided her with the option to join our family planning programme, putting her on birth control and providing her with postpartum counselling and support. Baby Siphosethu and mom are doing well and have been attending our baby wellness clinic. We have also given mom the opportunity to return to school when she is ready by providing a space in our creche for baby Siphosethu.
