Government will provide care to baby abandoned in hospital by parents: Minister Veena George

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Women and Child Development Department will provide care to a 23-day-old baby abandoned in the hospital ICU by his parents, Minister of Health, Woman and Child Development Veena George said. The Women and Child Development Department has been instructed to the Director in this regard.

The Women and Child Development Department's District Officer will visit the hospital and take further steps. If the parents return, the baby will be handed over to them. If the parents no longer want the baby, the Child Welfare Committee will take over the baby through legal proceedings. The Ernakulam General Hospital Superintendent has been instructed to ensure further treatment for the baby.

A couple from Jharkhand who worked at a fish farm in Kottayam were on their way home for childbirth. The wife, however, felt unwell on the train and was taken into the nearby hospital, where she gave birth to a baby girl. Since she weighed less than one kilogram, they shifted the baby to the NICU of a private hospital for specialist treatment. Later, the father and mother went missing. Hospital authorities say they have not been able to contact them.