India: Newborn baby rescued from garbage dump, discharged from hospital

A newborn baby girl who was rescued from a garbage dump earlier this month in New Delhi has been discharged from hospital and handed over to the representatives of the Delhi Council for Child welfare.

The baby girl is feeding well, and is gaining weight.

"Presently, after the 11-day stay in the hospital, the baby is feeding well and [is] gradually gaining weight [current weight is 2.5kg]. The medical team at Fortis, Vasant Kunj is pleased to discharge her today, on October 18. She was handed over to the representatives from the Delhi Council for Child Welfare (DCCW)/Child Welfare Committee (CWC), New Delhi, in the presence of the Delhi police team," a statement from Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj said.

On October 8, a two-day-old girl found abandoned in a garbage dump located in the Harijan Basti of Rajokri village was brought to the hospital for treatment by the Delhi police.

The hospital said: "On October 8, a newborn baby girl was brought to the emergency ward of Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj by local police after she was discovered in a trash can. She weighs about 2.1 kg and was hypothermic, wet, with an animal bite mark near her right leg, and had low oxygen saturation. In addition, the baby had jaundice and respiratory distress, for which oxygen support was required. "

A team of doctors ... immediately intervened and took the baby in their care."

The baby girl was discovered by two people who were passing by, who alerted the police.

On preliminary examination, it appeared that the baby was born less than 24-48 hours ago, was looking blue and her body weight was only 2.1 kilograms — lower than the normal weight of newborns.

As per the latest data available, India has 29.6 million orphaned and abandoned children, UNICEF data shows.

Delhi topped the list among states with the highest number of infants abandoned in any city in India between 2015-2020, according to the National Crime Records Bureau's 2020 report.

Among other states, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat registered a high number of abandoned babies, foeticide and infanticides combined within the same period.

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