Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
Another newborn baby has been found dumped in a bush in KwaZulu-Natal.
The week-old baby boy was found on Friday by Eric Cele at Umtentweni.
Cele said he was walking on the road when he heard the baby crying.
He investigated and found the baby boy wrapped in a nightgown - wearing a vest and a nappy. Cele alerted a security guard who called the police.
The child was taken to a trauma centre at Port Shepstone Hospital. Police said the child would be kept at the hospital until its mother was located.
This is the second baby to be found dumped in KwaZulu-Natal in a week.
Last week, the body of a baby was found dumped in Pietermaritzburg by a community member. The baby was dumped next to rubbish bins.
He was covered with a blanket - wearing a blue and yellow tracksuit top.
Last month rescuers worked around the clock to rescue a baby who was thrown in a pit latrine in Edendale. The mother of the baby was arrested and the matter is still in court.
Kwazulu-Natal Childline spokesman Linda Naidoo has attributed the escalating number of abandoned children, especially in the province, to poverty, HIV-Aids and the increase in child pregnancies.
"KwaZulu-Natal is one of the poorest provinces in this country and that's why we have so many cases of abandoned children," said Naidoo.
"HIV-Aids is another reason why mothers abandon babies. Young mothers often find themselves unable to cope with demands of raising an HIV-positive baby."
Naidoo said in some cases young mothers were hurt by the fathers of their babies, and dumped them after giving birth. She said others abandoned their babies because of parental pressure.
"The state must find a solution to the problem."
She also said the government should restructure poverty relief programmes.
"If poverty is still as rife as it is, we will have more babies being abandoned by their mothers," she said.
Another child is found abandoned
Canaan Mdletshe
Canaan Mdletshe
Another newborn baby has been found dumped in a bush in KwaZulu-Natal.
The week-old baby boy was found on Friday by Eric Cele at Umtentweni.
Cele said he was walking on the road when he heard the baby crying.
He investigated and found the baby boy wrapped in a nightgown - wearing a vest and a nappy. Cele alerted a security guard who called the police.
The child was taken to a trauma centre at Port Shepstone Hospital. Police said the child would be kept at the hospital until its mother was located.
This is the second baby to be found dumped in KwaZulu-Natal in a week.
Last week, the body of a baby was found dumped in Pietermaritzburg by a community member. The baby was dumped next to rubbish bins.
He was covered with a blanket - wearing a blue and yellow tracksuit top.
Last month rescuers worked around the clock to rescue a baby who was thrown in a pit latrine in Edendale. The mother of the baby was arrested and the matter is still in court.
Kwazulu-Natal Childline spokesman Linda Naidoo has attributed the escalating number of abandoned children, especially in the province, to poverty, HIV-Aids and the increase in child pregnancies.
"KwaZulu-Natal is one of the poorest provinces in this country and that's why we have so many cases of abandoned children," said Naidoo.
"HIV-Aids is another reason why mothers abandon babies. Young mothers often find themselves unable to cope with demands of raising an HIV-positive baby."
Naidoo said in some cases young mothers were hurt by the fathers of their babies, and dumped them after giving birth. She said others abandoned their babies because of parental pressure.
"The state must find a solution to the problem."
She also said the government should restructure poverty relief programmes.
"If poverty is still as rife as it is, we will have more babies being abandoned by their mothers," she said.
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