Abandoned baby Anisha sees light of humanity

Remember Anisha, the two to three days’ old baby recovered from a dustbin in Dhaka last month? What grave mistake could she have made in such short life to deserve the punishment that shatters our faith in humanity and makes us question the sanctity of the parent-child bond?

“Each year almost four to five cases like this come to us and every time we get taken aback with shock”, said Prof Dr Manisha Banerjee, in-charge of the neonatal ward of Dhaka Medical College Hospital(DMCH), the current home for Anisha.

Also read: Don't you worry, little one!

Anisha, now one month and a couple of days old, was found in a dustbin on the Ashulia-Mirpur-Beribadh road in Shah Ali area of Dhaka’s Mirpur on March 11, one month ago from today.

She is currently spending her days with 30 other premature babies in critical physical condition under closely supervised care of nurses and doctors, thanks to the intensive care unit of DMCH’s neonatal ward. But things for Anisha are not nearly the same as those 30 other babies. Unlike her fellows, Anisha’s biological parents did not want her. They dumped her in a dustbin to die.

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She is currently spending her days with 30 other premature babies in critical physical condition under closely supervised care of nurses and doctors, thanks to the intensive care unit of DMCH’s neonatal ward.

But things for Anisha are not nearly the same as those 30 other babies. Unlike her fellows, Anisha’s biological parents did not want her. They dumped her in a dustbin to die.

She was a premature baby with rashes all over the body from insect- bites alongside jaundice, infection in blood and dyspnea or breathing difficulty, says Dr Manisha.

“We would like to discharge her and hand her over to the family she will be adopted into, but we cannot yet do so due to her escalated state of jaundice” the doctor said.

Anisha’s home has not been decided yet. “As far as we know, four families have formally applied to the court to adopt the baby”.

“Wherever she goes, we wish her the love, care, health and happiness she deserves,” the doctor added.

Anisha also has difficulties in digesting food. First few days, she was being breastfed; now the doctors are giving her milk solutions.

“Despite all these, we would say her physical condition has improved a lot compared to the state she arrived in, but she is still not 100% out of danger”, Banerjee said.

Read more: Baby girl rescued from Mirpur dustbin gets a name

The story of Anisha’s name-giving is also very unique. The baby girl got her name when she was in need of blood and the blood bank required the patient’s name. “One of the nurses of neonatal ward instantly came up with the name as we did not have much time”, Manisha described.

The neonatal ward of DMCH is the only one of this high quality among those in the government-run hospitals of the country. That too mainly was built on donations by UNICEF, WHO and other organisations.

“The government should invest more in this sector of treatment”, Banerjee reflects.

“We would like to take care of more babies if the capacity of the neonatal ward could be increased”, she added.

We are glad the little angel has defied all odds so far, and has such sincere people taking care of her, with several parents eagerly waiting to give her the life she deserves. We hope she will have enough blessings to count and reasons to not lose hope on humanity, yet. Keep fighting, brave little warrior!