This picture shows a tiny baby safe in the arms of medical staff after it was found thrown away in a rubbish bin.
A passerby reportedly heard the baby’s cries as they went to dump garbage in the bin in the Brazilian municipality of Bertioga in the state of Sao Paulo in the early hours of the morning on Monday, 3rd April.
The person, apparently a homeless man, who found the baby weighing 1.8 kilogrammes (3.9 lbs) took the child to the hospital as it was right next to where the bin was located.
Dr Bruno Chehade Pereira said that the umbilical cord of the baby was still attached and that the child had probably only been born around two hours earlier.
He shared the picture on his social media page, where he said: “Tonight, during my shift at Bertioga Hospital, a newborn abandoned in a dumpster in the city, and rescued by a resident was bought in.
“Thanks to the great work of our whole team, he received all the necessary care at the time and is now in stable condition, without any risk to his life.
“It’s impossible not to get emotional in a situation like this. It’s moments like this that make this profession so special. Another life saved.”
He later added: “Such a situation is sad. It even crosses our minds to adopt this child.
“At the time, we wonder how a mother can in good conscience or in another mental state [manage] to abandon a helpless child? I don’t know her mental and financial conditions, but a situation like this is very sad.”
Officials are now trying to find the mother.
An investigation for child abandonment in Bertioga is currently being carried out by the Secretariat for Social Development, Work and Income who said that the technical team of the Specialized Reference Center for Social Assistance (CREAS) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) were also involved.
The baby will remain in the hospital to put on weight, and after that will be moved to a foster home.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Central European News
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