But Kitty they may have little idea how to recognise 'serious risk' to the baby.
Living rough in sub zero temperatures is a serious risk. You'd either have to over swaddle or co sleep, both of which risk suffocation. She'd have to breastfeed- no alternative. No opportunity to regularly weigh the baby to check it's thriving. If it was born screaming, then got quieter and quieter they may have assumed it was doing better, rather than getting weaker.
The baby was at serious risk from the start.