Cutting the cord: Baby abandoned by mother
Doctors say the child will require surgery and will then be handed over to the Child Protection Bureau.
GUJRANWALA:
A woman abandoned her malformed baby a day after giving birth.
According to hospital officials in the Gujranwala Civil Hospital, a mother left her day-old baby and disappeared on Wednesday afternoon.
“She just handed the child to me and said she had to go to the washroom. She never returned to claim the child and we are now working on arranging an adoption,” said a nurse at the hospital Abia Safdar.
According to hospital records, the baby was born on May 31, with an extended spinal chord. “The baby has been in intensive care because a portion of his spinal chord is outside the body and exposed. He faces a severe risk of infection,” said Chief Child Specialist Farrukh Shabbir Nagi.
Nurses at the hospital said that they were having a hard time tracing the woman because she had also stolen her admission forms from the office. “She made sure she couldn’t be traced and we don’t even know her name,” said a scrub nurse, Wajeeha. “She said she wanted to see her baby after we told her that he was extremely weak. She held him for a few minutes and we left them alone,” she added. “Later she handed us the child and ran,” she added.
“We are presently trying to make sure the baby survives. It looks like the child will have to be placed with the child protection bureau or given up for adoption,” said Nagi. “The child is in intensive care and we are prepping him for surgery as his spinal chord will need to be operated on as soon as possible,” she added.
Hospital officials said that arranging an adoption for a child with a birth disorder was extremely hard. “This is why we have already contacted the child protection bureau to guide us with how to place the child after the surgery. He will need to be kept in the hospital for recovery for a little while before we can release him,” said nurse Wajeeha.
So far, doctors have said that the child’s papers and documentation was being drawn up by hospital staff. “We have no one to claim the child so we are making all the decisions with regards to the surgery as we see fit,” Dr Nagi said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2011.
A woman abandoned her malformed baby a day after giving birth.
According to hospital officials in the Gujranwala Civil Hospital, a mother left her day-old baby and disappeared on Wednesday afternoon.
“She just handed the child to me and said she had to go to the washroom. She never returned to claim the child and we are now working on arranging an adoption,” said a nurse at the hospital Abia Safdar.
According to hospital records, the baby was born on May 31, with an extended spinal chord. “The baby has been in intensive care because a portion of his spinal chord is outside the body and exposed. He faces a severe risk of infection,” said Chief Child Specialist Farrukh Shabbir Nagi.
Nurses at the hospital said that they were having a hard time tracing the woman because she had also stolen her admission forms from the office. “She made sure she couldn’t be traced and we don’t even know her name,” said a scrub nurse, Wajeeha. “She said she wanted to see her baby after we told her that he was extremely weak. She held him for a few minutes and we left them alone,” she added. “Later she handed us the child and ran,” she added.
“We are presently trying to make sure the baby survives. It looks like the child will have to be placed with the child protection bureau or given up for adoption,” said Nagi. “The child is in intensive care and we are prepping him for surgery as his spinal chord will need to be operated on as soon as possible,” she added.
Hospital officials said that arranging an adoption for a child with a birth disorder was extremely hard. “This is why we have already contacted the child protection bureau to guide us with how to place the child after the surgery. He will need to be kept in the hospital for recovery for a little while before we can release him,” said nurse Wajeeha.
So far, doctors have said that the child’s papers and documentation was being drawn up by hospital staff. “We have no one to claim the child so we are making all the decisions with regards to the surgery as we see fit,” Dr Nagi said.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2011.