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Original poster

Newborn baby abandoned in bushes in High Wycombe

12 replies

SomeGuy · 14/09/2009 00:13

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/8253504.stm

"The baby, named Rosie by nurses caring for her in hospital, is thought to have been two days old when she was found in bushes in High Wycombe on Tuesday.

A passer-by found her wrapped in a grey cardigan in a distinctive pink and cream bag in some bushes.

On Friday police urged shoppers to look out for similar bags.

It is decorated with a large sepia-toned image of women in 1950s-style bathing costumes posing by a car.

Rosie still had her umbilical cord attached so it is believed her birth was medically unsupervised. "

OP posts:
weegiemum · 14/09/2009 00:16

Oh how sad - glad baby is OK and hope that Mum can come forward and get the help she must need as well.

This happened with a teenage Mum close to where I lived when dd1 was a baby - eventually they were reunited and she is a brilliant Mum now, so hope it all works out well for "Rosie" too!

Original poster
SomeGuy · 14/09/2009 00:21

Yes, I would think you'd be pretty worried about the legal consequences having done that, to try and come back

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 14/09/2009 00:26

aw. poor wee soul! glad she's okay. someone did that in the glasgow area a couple of years ago.

put the baby in a hold all and left him in front of a chippy.

he was okay, but they never found the mum .

weegiemum · 14/09/2009 00:31

In these situations there are no legal consequences normally. Its a frightened young mum, often a concealed pregnancy, and usually, mostly, everyone just want to help.

SolidGoldBrass · 14/09/2009 00:56

Well some countries have this facility. My vote would be for better sex education and liberal abortion laws, really. Because when a woman has felt driven to give birth secretly and abandon the baby, what's going to happen to the pair of them after the 'heartwarming' reunion? Are they going to go back to a violent, abusive household (where the baby was perhaps conceived incestuously)?

Original poster
SomeGuy · 14/09/2009 02:55

OTOH, the child would have very good life prospects if swiftly adopted at this tender age.

OP posts:
chimchar · 14/09/2009 07:00

poor baby girl...and i just feel so terrible for the babys mum...i can only imagine how she must be feeling...i hope she comes forward and is ok.

i'd love to see a happy ending to this story.

weegiemum · 14/09/2009 08:51

SGB - the situation I know of, which I'm not going into details of here, was wonderfully resolved!

In a small community, the mother (who was a teenager) came forward after her mum figured out it was her. She was reunited with her daughter, got fabulous support from the rest of the community who were just pleased there was a happy ending, she is a great Mum and her dd was in nursery and primary school with my dd1 before we moved away.

The girl is lovely, the Mum has grown up (with help), and it all worked out well.

Not all abandoned babies are from abusive households - and we should treat both mother and baby with love and compassion rather than swift adoption and criminal punishment (as long as there are no other signs of abuse - and I knwo you can't always tell).

SolidGoldBrass · 14/09/2009 10:34

Oh I do agree that the mother and the baby should be supported, and that there are often happy outcomes in cases such as this. But having to go through the physical and mental agony of concealing a pregnancy, giving birth alone (with no pain relief at all) and then having to find somewhere to leave the baby and hope it will be cared for... this is a dreadful thing for a woman. And it only happens to women who are either in appallingly abusive situations or who have been kept in ignorance about sex, contraception etc or taught that it is wicked and shameful to have sex...

AttilaTheMeerkat · 14/09/2009 11:24

I sincerely hope this Mother comes forward but there is a likelihood that she will not. Not every such case ends with a reunion of Mother and child.

The police get involved at an early stage in the discovery of any foundling. The infant is usually taken to hospital for health checks, and if no-one comes forward immediately the press are alerted and a picture appears int he local paper. Nevertheless there is always the phrase" The police are anxious to trace the Mother, because she may be in need of medical treatment". The aim is to get the Mother to come forward but she still runs the risk of prosecution if she does so. In Britain the situation is complicated because the law of the land treats the mothers of foundlings under 2 years of age as criminals. The Offences Against the Persons Act of 1861 was introduced at a time when women had fewer legal rights compared to men and illegitimacy was seen as shameful. And the law still stands.

The child who is a foundling will never know their birth parents, their given name, where they were actually born or their actual date of birth to name but some vital details. They will not receive a full birth certificate but an adoption certificate. Rosie's name will likely change again.

I sincerely hope that records will be kept and properly maintained so that when "Rosie" comes of age and perhaps wants to find out about her early life as a foundling (if her Mum does not come forward) she will be readily able to do so. I sincerely hope too that all that she was found in is kept securely; such details are vitally important.

MamaG · 14/09/2009 11:27

How awful

When I was 20 a baby was left in a bus shelter opposite my flat.

the bus stop was out of use and the baby died

I cried for weeks, on and off, wishing I'd gone for a walk and heard her crying. It haunted me, it really did.

expatinscotland · 14/09/2009 11:43

OMG, MamaG! How awful!

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