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Baby in incubator, whither parents?

Raktima Bose

KOLKATA: His tiny trembling fingers curl up as if trying to grasp something secure. Lying in an incubator with his eyes shut in a city charity hospital, the boy’s fate seems to hang in the balance as his parents cannot be traced.

According to authorities of the Matri Mangal Pratishthan, Kalpana Das was delivered of the boy in a north Kolkata nursing home on August 17. “The baby was prematurely born and he developed respiratory problems. He was admitted to our charity hospital the same day by the father,” said neonatologist Rishikant Bajaj, who is supervising the treatment.

However, the mother never visited the hospital to check on her son, said the hospital authorities. “The father, Ashis Das, initially visited the baby and paid part of the medical expenses but the family started showing reluctance when we asked it to bring the mother for the baby to breast-feed,” said Joydeb Mazumdar, public relations officer.

Then the father also stopped visiting the baby, Mr. Mazumdar said. The address provided by the family turned out to be false.

“The baby is responding positively to treatment and will be ready for discharge in a few days. But what will we do with him after that,” asked Dr. Bajaj.

“At present we are requesting other lactating mothers admitted to our hospital to breast-feed the baby, but this is not a permanent solution.”

A ray of hope

However, there is a ray of hope. “We are getting enquiries from many childless couples and various organisations interested in adopting the baby and we are considering such appeals,” said Mr. Mazumdar.

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