WHILE childless couples pine to hold their own little bundle of joy, the small, lifeless body of a newborn boy, wrapped in a blanket and discarded like rubbish, was found in the Richards Bay central business district this week.
Community and SAPS trauma room worker Sharon Mdletshe, who stayed on the scene until the tiny remains were removed, says no matter how many crimes she has encountered in the line of her work, cases where children are abandoned, harmed or killed are the hardest to deal with emotionally.
In this instance, the baby may not have been stillborn, and while a docket has been opened at the police station for concealment of birth, a post-mortem will determine the cause of death and whether another charge will be added.
The tragedy of this boy’s death, says Mdletshe, is that there are other options available for a mother who cannot cope with raising a baby, whatever her reason may be.
If she would just put up her hand for help instead of committing a deed to be regretted for life.
Because even if she escapes the law, she will have to live with her conscience.
Emotional support
Counselling and emotional support is freely provided by schools, tertiary institutions, faith-based organisations, clinics and NGOs such as LifeLine, Richards Bay Family Care and Freedom Generation SA.
The Department of Education’s learning plan ensured that children today are well informed about the risk of unprotected sex and the options available to prevent pregnancy if they do decide to become sexually active.
Even sex workers are cared and catered for by programmes such as the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT), which in partnership with LifeLine, initiated the Red Umbrella project in the city.
As the pregnancy develops over nine months, the mother has ample time to seek help and guidance in weighing up options such as private adoption or placement in homes for abandoned babies.
Many who seek help decide to raise their own children and later say it was the best decision they have ever made because motherhood is a joy and a privilege.
Though unwanted pregnancy may be the consequences of a rape, it is far more likely the result of irresponsible sexual behaviour and unwillingness to bear the fruit.
There is little excuse for a mother who chooses the rubbish bin as an option.
If the consequence of wrongdoing was immediately payable, one wonders if the mother would have made the same choice.
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