Nearly 6,500 babies born in southern Türkiye since twin earthquakes shook region

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Nearly 6,500 babies have been born in southern Türkiye since twin earthquakes shook the region earlier this month, the Turkish health minister said on Saturday.

A total of "6,447 babies have been born in the earthquake region since the first day of the disaster. Every child born is a hope," Fahrettin Koca said at the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) Coordination Center in the southern province of Hatay.

Wishing the babies a good and long life, Koca said that "the necessary health services are provided to the babies and their mothers without interruption."

Regarding maternity care, the health minister said that 10,489 pregnancy observations were conducted in the earthquake-hit region, and the number of postpartum follow-ups was also more than 10,000.

He said over 10,000 neonatal heel pricks, a blood collection procedure on newborns, were done, more than 5,100 babies were screened for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and 154,212 vaccine doses were administered as part of childhood immunization services.

Besides, speaking on the health services in the quake-hit areas, Koca said: "As of today, the number of patients hospitalized due to the earthquakes in 10 disaster provinces is 6,108. The total number of patients is 21,859. The total number of patients discharged is over 13,500."

Over 51,150 patients and injured people were transferred from the earthquake area to hospitals in other cities, he said.

Also, a total of 114 emergency response units and 25 field hospitals were established in the disaster area, he said.

At least 40,642 people were killed by the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

They were also felt in other countries in the region, including Syria, where at least 5,840 people have been killed.