Left To Die, Newborn Abandoned in Drain

Dominating news feeds in Australia and overseas currently is a distressing tale of abandonment, but also an amazing tale of survival against all odds.

We woke Sunday morning to the distressing news that a new born baby had been found by passing cyclists after having been not only abandoned, but left to die after having been dropped 2 ½ metres down a drain alongside the M7 motorway in Sydney’s west, five days earlier.

It took six men to lift the two hundred kilo concrete lid which covered the drain so that the child could be rescued, leading police to the conclusion that the baby would have had to be squeezed through a narrow opening in the drain and dropped to the bottom. With no rain in the past week, the drains were dry but with temperatures soaring yesterday and with expectation of rain today, the infant would have little hope of surviving for much longer.

Against all odds, the baby, a boy, survived the fall with no apparent injuries other than dehydration and malnourishment. In a case, which has horrified and distressed police officers on the scene, the child appeared most likely to have been born in a hospital, having been found with his umbilical cord clamped and cut, as well as being wrapped in a striped blanket of the type used in hospitals.

Following a check on local hospital records, the baby’s mother was quickly located and identified as 30 years old and a resident of the area where the baby was found. She has now been charged with attempted murder, with the news that her newborn son was apparently dumped in the roadside drain five days previously. She remains in custody for the time being and faces a sentence of a maximum of twenty five years in prison if convicted. It has also been recommended that she receive Post Natal care whilst in custody.

Although, the child is now safe, albeit in a serious condition in hospital, there are, according to experts, concerns that this ordeal has the potential to affect him for the rest of his life, with brain damage being one concern. Fortunately for the little boy, healthy newborns have reserves to manage malnutrition to a degree, and it is normal for a child to lose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first few days as their mothers can take a few days to product sufficient milk.

Sadly, cases of babies being abandoned are all too common. Most will be left at places their distressed mothers consider to be safe havens, police stations, hospitals and churches. For some, though, the thought process may not be clear enough to make rational decisions regarding a more positive outcome for some children and they will in some cases, not survive. In the case of this little boy, the reality appears to be that he was left to die instead of being left to be found.

There are today, renewed calls to establish Baby Safe Havens across Australia so that parents whose state of mind is such that they cannot directly give their child to another person, may do the next best thing for the baby’s welfare and leave it at a safe haven without fear of recrimination or prosecution. There may also, allow the mother time to seek help and when ready, make the most difficult decision about whether to give up the child for good or not.

No one, apart from this new mother, knows what her thought process was, or what desperation drove her to dispose of her child in this manner. We may have our opinions, but have no right to judge her actions. That will now be for the courts to decide as the process takes its course, but the question must be asked Was her distress and/or state of mind recognised at the hospital? If not, maybe, why not?

Other cultures, even other states compared to the New South Wales public health system, value the rite of passage a woman takes after becoming a mother for the first time very seriously. Acknowledging both the arrival of a new baby and the new role and responsibilities the first time mother faces equally.

Anyone from my generation, went to hospital to have a baby which spent the night with the nurses in the nursery so you could have a good rest. Many woman loved their extended mini-break away from their other kids or the chores of home.

But in the age of understaffed hospitals and not enough beds to go round, increasingly new mothers are asked if they are ready to go home before their milk comes in and have little time to rest and recover in hospital. New mothers need time to recoup and adjust after the birth of a baby with loads of support to get the hang of their new full-on, full-time job.

Are hospitals becoming too much like a business, worrying about beds and numbers over welfare and wellbeing? Where are the support groups? Why are mothers being sent home before they are equipped to cope with not only their new baby, but their first go at mother hood?

We would love to hear your thoughts.