A baby who was buried alive almost immediately after birth was rescued after spending hours beneath the ground.
The mum, a 23-year-old from Uganda, buried her baby in a garden during the night – and the child wasn’t found until 11am the next morning.
The mum had given birth without any medical assistance, and the tiny baby girl was found after other family members found a trail of blood in a garden near to their home.
Paramedics rushed to the garden to rescue the infant, who was still attached to the placenta.
The baby was pulled from the ground covered in cuts and bruises, due to the pressure of being buried under soil overnight.
She was cold to the touch and her skin had turned ‘bluish’ after being buried throughout the night.
They immediately cleaned off the worst of the soil and separated the baby from the placenta, cutting the remaining umbilical cord, but after a few minutes they heard a weak cry and rushed her to hospital.
Once there her wounds were further cleaned and sterilised and she was placed in an incubator.
Tests found that miraculously she hadn’t suffered any injuries to her heart, stomach, or any other organs, and she was discharged from hospital in just six days.
A report into the case, published in the International Medical Case Reports Journal, said: ‘This case not only defies established expectations but also illuminates perinatal physiological adaptation complexities.
‘It highlights a fortunate and exceptional outcome in dire circumstances, presenting a captivating enigma within scientific realms.
‘This report sheds light on the critical importance of early intervention and timely rescue efforts in cases of neonaticide, emphasizing the significance of raising awareness and implementing prompt measures to safeguard newborns in vulnerable situations and collectively contribute to our understanding of handling similar distressing cases.’
The newborn is now being raised by her grandmother. A check-up of the baby’s progress after six months found she was experiencing ‘normal growth, positive nutritional status, accomplishment of age-appropriate developmental milestones’, and visible skin lesion scars’.
The mother was taken into custody by local authorities for attempted infanticide, and was reportedly placed in a correctional centre, before being transferred to a psychiatric facility.
The mother, who already has one child from an unplanned pregnancy, did not attend any antenatal visits during the pregnancy.
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