Hour old newborn abandoned

[SerendipityJane]

Hour old newborn abandoned in this weather. I have no words, only tears.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68025769

You do not know who left the baby. Maybe it was someone other than the mother, perhaps she is a victim of trafficking, a victim of abuse. She might be very young, maybe a child even.

Maybe this was her attempt tovsave the baby. This may be the best she could do. She may have been watching to ensure the baby was found.

You have no clue.

Maybe it was a women who didn't care whether the baby lived or died. Leaving the baby in a plastic bag shows as much & that's how I'm deciding to judge her. She could have at least wrapped it in the clothes she was wearing. Any mother who truly cared about the child surviving would have stripped themselves and wrapped the baby up instead of leaving it to the elements.

Any other story of abandonedment I've heard and the child is always left in a church, corner shop, hospital or doorstep. Dressed for the weather.

So with all due respect. You have no clue either.

*the....sorry!

I hope she forgives herself. I hope she is physically well and safe. I hope she receives the care she needs. I hope someone can help her fix whatever has driven this.

@Snugglemonkey this made me well up. Thank you for writing this. I hope that young mother is ok somehow, and somehow life gets kinder to her, because the world is a very brutal place for vulnerable young women.

The woman won't come forward. They never do. You don't abandon aa newborn like that, it's so sad for the baby learning that as they grow.

Maybe it was a women who didn't care whether the baby lived or died

If you are right, if this woman did not care and left her baby in a park without a care in the world - and I very much doubt it is that black and white - but if she "didn't care" then something was broken in her a long time ago.

Healthy, well-adjusted, content people do not leave a baby in a park and "not care".

Women who are forced to give up their babies often compartmentalise and distance themselves from their realities, to protect themselves emotionally.

Private pain can be locked down very deeply. They might never talk about it.

Thank your lucky stars you are having such a hard time trying to puzzle over why she did this, and why it seemed to her like an acceptable decision.

Less than an hour earlier this poor mother gave birth. I am imagining all sorts, what if she birthed alone in the park? I was so exhausted after birth I couldn’t get up for at least 40 minutes after just lay/sat recovering. Imagining that she’d only just birthed the placenta, god willing it was passed naturally. Just going over all the horrific scenarios this woman or girl is facing…she will be somewhere tonight still heavily bleeding, possibly with birth injuries, most likely concealing it.

It goes without saying everyone is glad the baby was found alive. But I imagine if this poor mother had abandoned it herself there (we don’t know she did) less than an hour after giving birth, then she most likely hadn’t got far away at the time the baby was found, and probably witnessed it be picked up by a stranger. I want to give this poor mother a hug. She needs caring for just as much as that poor tiny baby.

Nervous stepdad in Newham tonight.

Probably a molested child mother.

Adoption a blessing and very brave of the mother.

How anyone can condemn this poor woman is beyond me, this is so far beyond a 'normal' situation.. Thank God the baby was found and is ok. I truly cannot imagine being so desperate as to abandon my baby in any circumstances . Poor poor girl. I wish her love, peace and health and also for the baby.

Shocked to read this has happened three times in the last few years in the same area 😢 Very sad for all involved. It’s a shame the baby couldn’t have been left in a safer environment but very lucky she was found so soon and didn’t suffocate in the plastic bag or freeze, the soul 😢 Also think it must be extra tough to grow up knowing you were that baby the articles were about, someone has to break that to you at some point, tragic

This. She must have been there making sure it was picked up given the timings. I can't imagine how scared she must have been.

Most indoor places have cctv. It's possible she felt the park was safer in terms of not being identified.

I believe the baby was wrapped in a towel and then in a shopping bag. I'm assuming also that there are frequent visitors to the park so it was likely baby would be found.

The poor woman/girl must be so scared and desperate.

We have no idea whether it was the mother who abandoned the baby, or her abusers? For all we know, she could be an abused child herself at the cruelty of a prostitution ring.

We really don't know

Or for that matter a father with no rights to be here, no recourse to health care, or a panicked teenage dad.
We simply have no idea. I hope the mother is as alright as she can be in whatever her circumstances are.

@fuckingcoldshowers you've worked in this area, or very close to it, haven't you?

You've got the experience. It shows. Thank you for your compassion and wisdom.

No, I don't. But I am willing to be compassionate and to have some humanity. It could be a child with no access to clothes etc, it could be someone very mentally unwell. It could be someone who does not care if the baby survives perhaps, but that is the least likely possibility. We know this from when the mothers have been found.

So with all due respect, you judge away, but actually, you are demonstrating the very lack of humanity that you are judging.

Thanks @fuckingcoldshowers. I just believe in extending a bit of compassion to everyone. There is not enough of it in this world sometimes.

Sadly several posters on this thread - and other commentary on this incident beyond here - prove your point perfectly.

This is hard to understand.

You can get a abortion, you can get a child adopted?

If your pregnant it shows, someone will notice, then suddenly you don't have a baby anymore.
Dosent anyone notice?
Is it possible to give birth alone and deliver alone?

What if you have complications and need help?
Have I missed something?

@girlfriend44 yes, you've missed a lot. You're assuming that the girl or woman in question is able to access those things. And have a family, and a family that notice and care. It's been explained so many times on this thread.

Yes you can give birth alone. If there are complications then mother and/or baby may die.

Some very naive replies here. Of course a woman/teenage girl can conceal a pregnancy, or live in denial, and give birth alone.

Remember this story? The girl gave birth alone with her parents upstairs:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-66018917.amp

If you read it the judge says the lack of periods and putting on weight etc, she must have known.

It's very hard to believe a mum dosent know she's pregnant.
When your full term your quite big. Your normal clothes wouldn't fit you.

Seeing as she know has 12 years in prison, wouldn't it have been better to get an abortion or give the child up.
Plenty of help out there today and no stigmas like years ago.

Some people on this thread are so sheltered, open your eyes and thank your privilege for never experiencing abuse, rape, incest from your own family, having zero family/ friends, being trafficked or living somewhere illegally because you’re country is so dangerous etc etc. these are some reasons why the baby could have been abandoned. How do we know it was by the father or possible abuser who abandoned the baby? We don’t. Also, they were left on a busy junction so the person who abandoned knew they child would be found.

Yes, the 'just have an abortion or have the baby adopted, it's sooooo easy' lot are clearly living very sheltered lives.

As if a 12yo pregnant by her father, or someone who has been trafficked, or a rape victim in an abusive marriage trying to get away can simply pop down to the clinic, or happily engage with social workers to have the baby adopted.

The level of desperation that Mother must have felt to see this as her only option is heartbreaking (and nothing like the linked case where the woman murdered her baby at all).