Dead baby found alive

A newborn baby girl cried out at the graveyard when family members were preparing to bury her yesterday morning, six hours after a doctor said she was dead.

The newborn's grandfather, Abul Kalam Mia, said his daughter-in-law Naznin Akter felt labour pains around 9:00pm on Wednesday, when the family took her to Jahid Memorial Child Hospital in Faridpur town.

The hospital authorities refused to admit her, saying there was no bed left unoccupied, alleged Kalam, an employee at Faridpur Ansar Camp.

When he requested doctor Rejia Alom to examine Naznin, who was due in January, the doctor refused, saying she would “attend her later”.

“She [the doctor] then went to the operation theatre,” he added.

Meantime around 12:00am, Naznin gave birth to the girl normally in the doctor's room, where she had been waiting all the while.

After some time, Rejia came out of the operation theatre and declared the infant dead.

The kid was then kept in a carton on the hospital floor, he alleged.

A dejected Kalam took the kid to Faridpur Municipality Graveyard for burial around 3:00am. As it was still dark, an employee asked him to wait till morning. Kalam obliged, keeping the carton beside a concrete grave.

In the morning, imam Abdur Rob while reciting from the Quran asked Kalam to open the carton.

“As I opened the carton, the kid cried out. I then untied its hands and legs,” Kalam said.

He then took her to the same hospital for treatment.

Contacted, Rejia said the kid was born premature and that she did not find its pulse and heartbeat during examination. That's why she declared her dead.

“It's a miracle that the kid is alive.”

Jahangir Chowdhury, general secretary of the hospital's management committee, said he heard about the incident.

The hospital formed a committee to probe it and that the authorities would take action in line with the report, he added.