Chinese Hospital Mistakens New Born as Dead, Disposes
Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in the southern provincial city of Foshan, China, is under investigation by local authorities for the disposing of a new-born baby thought to be dead, but who later in fact turned out to be alive.
According to a statement provided to the AFP, a woman named Liu Dongmei was rushed to the hospital eight months pregnant on Oct. 26, 2011 where she underwent an emergency delivery.
The statement said that when the baby had left her womb, he was neither breathing nor crying and was purple in color. It continued by saying that thinking he was dead, the team disposed of the baby without undertaking proper procedures.
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However, when a relative asked to see the dead infant, she received a plastic bag containing a baby that was alive.
"When I saw the bag, I saw the baby's limbs moving and foam was coming out of the mouth", the statement quoted her.
The still-alive newborn was then sent to emergency care and currently maintains a stable condition.
According to Foshan News, the family was initially told that the baby was a girl as a means to take away from the impact of the death. In China, male offspring are culturally valued higher than females.
The medical team has been suspended until further investigation and the family plans to sue the hospital for 300,000 yuan or US $45,000, the Beijing news informed.
