A newborn baby was, today, snatched from the jaws of death in Kagara, Niger State.
According to reports, she had been dumped by her mom but her cry attracted passers by who promptly rescued her.
Why are babies abandoned?
Baby abandonment happens because adoption and abortion are frowned upon in “certain cultures”, says an NGO that assists young Cape Town women with unplanned pregnancies. Young pregnant women are lead to believe that neither adoption nor abortion is a viable option for them. It’s not clear to which cultures they are referring.
Poverty and alcohol and substance abuse were the reasons, suggested by Patricia de Lille.
Paediatrician Michelle Meyer believes that HIV/Aids is the reason behind baby abandonment, as half of abandoned babies are born to HIV-positive mothers.
Gender inequality is a cause behind baby abandonment, according to the DA’s Helen Zille. Men or boys make babies and then walk away, leaving the responsibility of raising the child to the mother.
An inability to communicate with family members and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the pregnancy was the reason offered by teacher Emmerentia van Wyk. She said that young mothers felt abandoned by the father of their children as well as their community.
Justin Foxton of Stop Crime Say Hello, says that baby abandonment might be an extreme form of the maternal instinct. Some young mothers feel that the baby would be better off without them and place their babies in a spot where they intend them to be discovered.
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