In Salem district, once notorious for female infanticide, parents of three newborn female triplets gave up the babies citing poverty.
On October 20, a woman gave birth to triplets at the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital. The woman and her babies continued to remain under treatment at the hospital, but on discharge, the mother and the parents handed over the infants to the hospital authorities claiming they were extremely poor and that there was no way they could bring up three girl children.
The hospital accepted the infants. Hospital Dean Valli Sathyamoorthy saidhe had requested complete anonymity and, therefore, no further details were available.She further said: “The three babies were underweight at birth, weighing between 1.2 kg and 1.6 kg. So we provided treatment for the children and fed them milk from the milk bank in the hospital. As the children became healthy, we informed District Collector S. Karmegam about handing over the babies to District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), and on Friday, the Collector came to the hospital and received the infants.”
The Collector then handed over the infants to the DCPU officials.
Officials of the DCPU said they were taking care of the infants at the Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA) and they were receiving treatment. The babies will be kept here for 60 days, and if the parents change their mind within that period, they can claim their children. If not, the DCPU will issue certificates for the infants, making them ready for adoption. “Till the infants are adopted, we will take care of them,” officials pointed out.
The first reception centre for female babies rejected by their families started under the Cradle Baby System in 1992. Mothers were persuaded not to kill girl children, but to drop them at the reception centre and the State would then take care of them. From 1996, the reception centre shifted to the campus of the Government Hospital in Salem.
