Senior Reporter
A newborn baby girl, who was found abandoned in a cardboard box in South Oropouche with her umbilical cord still attached, remained under observation in hospital last night and was reported to be in good health.
A senior police officer confirmed that the infant was in State care at the San Fernando General Hospital while investigators worked to confirm the identity of her mother, whom they believe is Venezuelan.
Police have not disclosed how long the baby was left in the box or what circumstances led to her abandonment in the area where she was discovered.
Officers were alerted to the infant after a 23-year-old Venezuelan woman and a Trinidadian man took the child to the Oropouche Police Station on Thursday.
The woman, who lives in the community, told police that at about 12.15 pm she was walking along St Mary’s Road, near the South Oropouche Government Primary School, when she heard a baby crying.
She noticed a cardboard box on the side of the road containing a black plastic bag. When she looked inside the bag, she discovered the baby girl with her umbilical cord still attached.
The woman said she took the infant to the home of a 47-year-old resident, who accompanied her to the police station.
At the station, officers cleaned and diapered the baby before taking her to the Point Fortin Area Hospital for a medical examination. Doctors who treated the infant believe it was no more than three to four days old.
The Children’s Authority was subsequently notified.
Speaking about the incident yesterday, child psychologist Dr Sarah Subhan said there may be many contributing factors behind the abandonment, noting that childbirth can have a significant impact on a woman’s mental and physical well-being.
“There may be high levels of distress and possibly low levels of social support for the mother. Other considerations are fear, isolation, mental health issues, violence and trauma. The umbilical cord still being attached suggests that both mother and baby were not attended to medically,” she explained.
Subhan said concerns about the mother’s safety and her ability to access support were also critical.
She added that abandoning a child is traumatic not only for the parent but can also have long-term implications for the child’s development.
“The child would have been born in circumstances of high stress levels with their basic needs being unmet. This has long-term consequences for the child.”
Subhan suggested that society should consider increasing public education and awareness about the support services and options available to mothers who, for whatever reason, may be unable to care for or keep their babies.
In a release issued last evening, the Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago acknowledged that many parents and caregivers face difficult circumstances and urged people to seek help rather than abandon their children.
The Authority reminded the public that child protection is everybody’s business and encouraged anyone who feels unable to safely care for a child to contact the organisation to discuss available options for the child’s care.
It said its Emergency Response Team had launched an investigation into the incident, as is customary in such cases.
The Authority also appealed to anyone with information about the child’s identity or circumstances to contact its hotline at 996 or the police at 999.
Attempts to reach Social Development Minister Vandana Mohit for comment were unsuccessful.
