Another newborn abandoned in Durban
Yet another newborn baby has been rescued after being abandoned.
The KZN Department of Health says in a statement that the six-day-old baby boy who was premature and born weighing just over one kilogram was found in a hospital waste bin, at Umbilo's King Edward Hospital, on Thursday night. It is alleged the mother put him in a pillow case and threw him in the bin while the nurses weren't looking.
When he was eventually found, he was struggling to breathe but a doctor managed to resuscitate him.
The department says the mother was arrested and will appear in court tomorrow. This comes just days after the rescue of a baby girl from a storm water drain in Newlands East and Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo's once again urged expectant mothers who're unable or unwilling to keep their babies, to use the resources available to them.
"From the little history that we have about this family, this 20-year-old mother, this is her second birth and she has no support from the boyfriend and no support from her family. This is a consequence - again - of an unplanned, unwanted pregnancy. Even if there has been that 'fault,' the government is ready to give you guidance", he said.
"Right now, the mother is in custody and this baby is going to be in the programme for adoption. The mother could have done that without all this," Dhlomo said.