BELAGAVI: A newborn baby boy, who was covered in a cloth and put in a cradle made of plastic that was suspended from a tree, was rescued at Nersa Gouliwada hamlet in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district on Thursday. An Asha worker, Satyavati Desai, spotted the boy and rushed him to Khanapur taluk hospital. The baby was later shifted to the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital.
The baby is now in the neonatal ICU and is out of danger. The baby, weighing 2.2 kg, is said to have been born just a day before it was found abandoned. Even the umbilical cord and placenta had not been removed, indicating that the mother, who did not want the baby, might have abandoned it in a hurry. As the baby was exposed to the cold weather, it had a slight infection and hypothermia.
Belagavi District Health Officer Dr Mahesh Koni said, “I have instructed the taluk health officer and officials from the women and child welfare department to conduct an inquiry in the surrounding villages and hospitals to find the baby’s mother. A case will be registered once we get more information.” This is the second such incident of an infant being abandoned in Khanapur taluk in the last six months.