Manila: Some 20 babies were born in a government-run hospital, also known as Manila’s baby factory, on New Year’s Eve, a local paper said.
John Leon Aldea was delivered exactly at 12 midnight of December 31, after his mother Mary San Jose Aldea had two hours of labour pains, Dr Estrella D. Aprueba, supervisor of the delivery ward of the Fabella Hospital in Manila’s Sta Cruz District, told the Philippine Star
A hefty 3.5 kilogram baby, the young Aldea is the second child of Mary and Oliver Aldea, driver of pedicab, a three-wheeled small vehicle. Both parents are 21-years-old.
Seven of 20 cases were delivered by Cesaarian section, two by forceps, and the rest through normal delivery, said Dr Aprueba, adding that nine babies are normally delivered everyday at the government-run hospital.
President Benigno Aquino has been chastised by the influential Catholic Church, for signing into law on December 21 a controversial health bill that the two houses of Congress passed.
The bill was meant to stem the country’s 2.2 per cent annual birth rate. It called for government subsidy for the family planning programme for poor people, including the distribution of artificial contraceptives and health education in public schools for students with ages nine to 19.
Aquino was the only Philippine president who managed to push for the passage of the 17-year-old bill.
The Philippines has an estimated 100 million recorded population.
