A newborn baby girl was found naked and motionless in an open field along Mark Street last week.
Witnesses say the baby still had the umbilical cord and placenta attached when members of the community made the shocking discovery on Thursday morning.
“The baby was so still that the members of the community who found her, first thought that she had already died,” said Constable Nontobeko Zwane of Vryheid Social Crime Prevention.
“It seems that the mother had just left the child where she had given birth. I don’t know how a mother can abandon her child without anyone to help. The baby could have died if members of the community hadn’t found her and contacted the police,” continued Const. Zwane.
“Clinically, the baby is in stable condition and is formula feeding. She was brought in with the placenta in a bucket, which was taken by the police for DNA testing. The issue of locating the mother is being handled by SAPS.”
Staff at Child Welfare Vryheid indicated that they were aware of the case, but were unwilling to provide any information in the absence of their supervisor, who was attending a seminar in Pietermaritzburg.
Manager at Vryheid CMD (Christelike Maatskaplike Diens), Sipho Ndaba, urged women who have unwanted pregnancies to seek help rather than abandon their babies.
“There are many reasons for unwanted babies. Sometimes it is a teen mother who can’t cope, sometimes the baby is born needing medical attention, in the case of fetal alcohol syndrome for example, or the mother may have been a victim of rape.
“If an unwanted child is brought to our attention, we offer counseling to determine the mother’s state of mind and then we look at what alternatives are available. We first look for a family member who can take care of the child. If we are unsuccessful, we can place the child in a foster home,” said Mr Ndaba.
In light of a recent case in which a Vryheid orphan reported being beaten and even raped by her foster family, we questioned Mr Ndaba on the safety of children in foster care.
He assured the Vryheid Herald that foster parents that are used by CMD have to go through rigorous screening, and they have to attend at least seven session of a parenting skills workshop.
“During the workshop, we work intensively with each potential foster parent so that we can detect if there might be a problem. We also check all the records available for cases of abuse, and they have to submit their fingerprints to the police station. Before a child is placed with foster parents, we regularly visit the home from two weeks prior to placement. After placement, we conduct routine follow-ups with the school the child is attending, the foster parents, as well as their neighbours, to determine if there are any problems,” continued Mr Ndaba.
“In the case of an unwanted pregnancy, I would recommend foster care before adoption, because adoption is irreversible. I would like to encourage schools to refer pregnant learners to social workers so that they may receive counseling before they make decisions out of desperation,” he concluded.