A newborn has beaten the odds to survive after allegedly being thrown out of a window by his mother in South Africa.
A 32-year-old woman believed to be the child’s mother has since been arrested and charged for child abandonment, reports IOL.
KZN police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said the woman is due to appear in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
“A case of child abandonment was opened at Verulam police station after a woman allegedly gave birth at a workplace and threw the baby out of the window. The baby was taken to hospital for treatment and the suspect was arrested,” Zwane said.
Members of the country’s Reaction Unit SA (RUSA) arrested the mother on Saturday in Cordoba Gardens in the Verulam area.
Authorities said the baby, after being thrown out, landed in a bush approximately 3 metres below the window.
“Reaction Officers were called out to the business after an employee heard the child crying behind the toilet
“Upon arrival Medics assessed the child and found that the umbilical cord and placenta were still attached,” RUSA boss Prem Balram said.
“The female that found the child informed RUSA Members that a piece of cloth was tied around his neck and it appeared as if the mother had attempted to strangle him before she threw him out of the window.”
“Medics cut the umbilical cord before transporting the 3.9 kg boy to Osindisweni Government Hospital where he is currently being cared for by nurses.”
Balram said the mother was later arrested in the company of her boyfriend around Sand Pit in Redcliffe, Verulam.
“When confronted the suspect remained silent and requested that she be arrested. She declined medical assistance.”
The woman is believed to have two other children, according to the police.
The incident comes a few months after a newborn was found abandoned inside a black refuse bag in Carters Glen, South Africa.
A gardener who was employed at one of the houses, Reuben Ndlovu, found the baby after he heard faint cries coming from the garden rubble, the IOL reported this February.
“I saw a black refuse bag and at first I thought it could be a puppy. I opened the bag and, to my surprise, it was a baby wrapped in a blanket. The black bag was not knotted closed so that the baby could still breathe. I don’t know how long the baby was left there. I have five children and six grandchildren. It makes me wonder why the baby was just left there.”
A neighbour cleaned the baby and kept him warm until emergency services arrived.
