Joy, anger as newborn rescued
Baby dumped in drain brought to safety, as community battle to cope with mom’s actions
IT WAS with a mixture of joy and anger that a newborn child was rescued from a stormwater drain in Newlands East yesterday.
The rescue came after a joint effort by paramedics, police and the fire department, who worked frantically to save the baby’s life.
Despite the successful rescue, the incident left a bitter taste, with many residents finding it hard to understand how a mother could abandon a baby in a drain.
Local resident Jade Michael found the incident “heartbreaking”.
Michael said the incident showed that teenagers did not know what to do when they found themselves parents of unwanted children.
“You don’t have to go and do something like this. Talk to your parents. Parents should talk to their children if they realise they have become sexually active, and should advise them on matters like contraceptives and communicate more with them,” she said.
Iyron Lovedale, 35, who discovered the baby, said he was relieved.
He said he was walking along Herring Road when he heard a noise.
He initially thought it was cat, but shone a torch into the drain and saw the baby.
Lovedale said the baby had just been born and still had her umbilical cord. The moment he saw the child, he thought of his 5-year-old daughter.
“I am happy the girl is out. If the baby came out dead, I would have been crying now. I am happy the baby is alive.”
He said police were called to the scene as locals tried to rescue the baby.
Emergency services spokesperson Robert Mckenzie said the pipe the baby was stuck in was about 30cm in diameter and she floated about 10m from where she was dumped.
Rescuers had to use a hammer and chisel to get the baby out. Mckenzie said the baby was stabilised and social workers would deal with the matter. He said police had already begun investigations.
Ncumisa Ndelu, spokesperson for the Department of Social Development, said she was shocked that people still dumped babies, especially when there were options such as contraceptives, pregnancy terminations and giving up the child for adoption.
She said throwing away a child was not an option and was a crime.
KZN Public Prosecutions director Moipone Noko said it was likely that charges of attempted murder would be opened.
Adeshini Naicker, acting director of Childline KZN, said there were a number of reasons a mother could abandon her child. These included a poor financial situation and unstable relationships.
“Mothers are also ill informed about their options regarding an unwanted pregnancy, and some are often wary of the protocol of giving up a baby for adoption and see abandonment as an easier option,” she said.
Health MEC Dr Sibusiso Dhlomo, who visited the baby, said the incident should be a turning point in the promotion of family planning and how this should be accepted by society.
“It doesn’t have to end this way. This little one was very fortunate to be alive and well. Some of the babies who get abandoned do not come out alive. This points to the need to strengthen family planning in that community, and others as well,” Dhlomo said.