A South African maternal rights organisation has highlighted the persistent issue of teenage pregnancies following reports of multiple births to young mothers on New Year’s Day 2026.
In the Eastern Cape, health and social development authorities reported that 21 babies were delivered to teenage mothers aged 15–19 by midday on 1 January 2026, out of 84 total births recorded in public facilities at that time. Some reports noted the number rising to 23 by later in the day.
This comes against a backdrop of national statistics from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), which recorded over 123,000 births to mothers aged 19 and younger in registrations processed between January 2024 and February 2025 (including some late registrations). Earlier estimates for 2024 births alone placed the figure at around 98,000–100,000 for young mothers.
Nonkululeko Mbuli, spokesperson for the Embrace Movement for Mothers — an organisation focused on advancing maternal health rights and supporting young mothers — described the trend as a “massive concern” requiring urgent societal action.
“What we tend to do as a society is reduce teenage pregnancy to an individual moral failing on the part of the young girl or teenager who has become a mother,” Mbuli said. “But we need to be looking at this issue holistically, systematically and structurally as well.”
Experts and officials echo these calls, pointing to underlying factors such as limited access to comprehensive sex education, contraceptives, poverty, and gender-based violence as key drivers. Provinces like the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal consistently report higher rates.
While New Year’s Day births are traditionally celebrated as symbols of hope, the involvement of teenage mothers has once again spotlighted the need for stronger prevention efforts and support systems for young parents across South Africa.