After surviving life-threatening complication, mom abandons newborn baby at China hospital

An East China hospital is searching for a mother who abandoned her newborn after she was treated for a potentially fatal pregnancy complication.

Hospital staff believes she did so in part to escape paying for medical fees.

The baby boy was born prematurely and is currently in the care of physicians at the First People’s Hospital in Hangzhou.

The 31-year old woman was getting her 36week pregnancy checkup on August 17 when she suffered from an amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).

A rare complication with a comparatively high maternal mortality rate, AFE occurs when amniotic fluid – the fluid surrounding a baby in the womb – leaks into the mother’s bloodstream.

After undergoing days of treatment, her blood pressure and heart rate returned to normal.

During that time, she gave birth to a boy, who was transferred to the hospital’s neonatal ward.

However, relatives not only refused to pay for her medical expenses, but also blamed the hospital for her condition. “We informed the family how high AFE mortality rates are and how rare it is to survive it, yet they said we had delayed treatment. I really don’t understand it. It’s unacceptable,” a physician said.

The woman disappeared from the hospital on August 24, leaving her son behind.

Hospital staff is now caring for the baby.