MUMBAI: A nurse has been suspended for taping a newborn baby’s mouth in the intensive care unit to stop him crying. The shocking incident happened at the Savitribai Phule Maternity Home in Bhandup, Mumbai on June 2. Although action was taken against the nurse, the Municipal Corporation has started an investigation into the incident.

The baby's mother is Priya Kamble, a resident of Bhandup. She delivered a baby boy on May 25. The baby was admitted to the intensive care unit as he developed jaundice

immediately after the delivery. The doctors had directed to breastfeed the baby at regular intervals. Accordingly, when Priya came to the intensive care unit to breastfeed him at night, she saw the tape on his mouth. When asked the nurse about it she said she taped his mouth to stop him from crying. The nurse refused to remove the tape and asked her to come the next morning at 8 am. The nurse did not listen to her when she said that the doctor had advised her to breastfeed him every two hours.

When Priya came again, the tape on his mouth was not removed. She also saw tapes on the mouths of other babies also. With this, the Kambles informed Jagriti Patil, the former corporator of the place. When he arrived, the tapes were removed. The hospital authorities took action against the nurse on the complaint of the corporator.

CCTV visuals of the intensive care unit has been collected as part of the investigation. This is not the first time that Savitribai Phule Maternity Hospital has been embroiled in controversy. The death of four babies in the hospital's NICU in a week in last December had drawn attention. An investigation was conducted into the incident.