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Tag: baby

  • Baby buried alive survives at Ajumako Ebowkurase

    A newly born baby girl who was buried by her mother in a bush at Ajumako Ebowkurase, a suburb of Ekwamase in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District of the Central Region has been found alive.

    According to eyewitnesses, they went to the bush and heard the cry of the baby and quickly rushed to the scene, only to find out that the baby had been buried there with her umbilical cord forcefully chopped off by her “runaway mother”

    The eyewitnesses said they quickly informed the elderly people in the town and sent the baby to the Abura Dunkwa Government hospital.

    Although the mother of the baby has not been found, the people of Ajumako Ebowkurase say they will do everything to locate her.

    In an interview with Atinka News, the Regent of the Ekwamase community, Alhaji Bukari Yussif said that this was the first time such an incident had occurred in the community.

    “Our research indicates that the person intentionally did that and run away. I dug the grave and removed the baby and put her in a head pan and carried her to the hospital,” he said.

    The Assembly Member of the Ekwamase Electoral area, Isaac Beasie Acquah also appealed to people living at Ekwamase and its environs to report any suspected person for proper directives.

    “I am appealing to all the people living in my electoral area to report any person who was pregnant and had given birth without seeing her baby to the police for proper investigations,” he said.

    The Ajumako Enyan Essiam District Social Welfare Officer, Madam Abena Serwaa Opare also said they will soon send the baby to an orphanage home.
    Meanwhile, the baby is sound and healthy and currently at the hospital receiving treatment.

    Source: Atinka Online

  • 38-year-old woman dumps newborn baby in public toilet

    A 38-year-old woman has been arrested by police in Drobo for allegedly dumping her day-old baby boy in a public toilet at Baateakwa in the Jaman South Municipality of the Bono Region.

    The woman, Akua Serwaa, who has since been transferred to the Berekum Police Command was arraigned, and is to re-appear on August 27.

    Speaking to the Ghanaian Times on the issue, the Assembly member of Baateakwa electoral area, Mr Emmanuel Nketia said, he had information around 6 am on Wednesday morning that a day-old baby had been dumped in a public toilet in his area.

    He said, he and some committee members had to demolish the toilet in order to rescue the child who is currently responding to treatment in a clinic at Baano Number One.

    When contacted, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Frankline Yevugah, Divisional Crime Officer at the Berekum Police Command, confirmed the arrest to the Ghanaian Times, indicating that what the suspect is accused of is against the law, which must take its course.

    The Ghanaian Times investigation on the matter has revealed that Akua Serwaa committed the act because the baby was conceived through an illicit affair while her husband was away in Dubai.

    To avoid shame and public ridicule, she decided to dump the new-born baby in a public toilet, Ghanaian Times information further revealed.

    Source: Ghanaian Times

  • Minister supports 25-year-old farmer who delivered quadruplets

    A big-hearted gesture from Kingsley Aboagye Gyedu, the Western North Regional Minister has spared a 25-year-old farmer after having quadruplets at the Bibiani Government Hospital. He presented boxes of soap, washing powder, baby diapers, wipers, toilet rolls, clothes, and cash of GH¢5000 to the mother, Princess Ayiemah, accompanied by Alfred Amoah, the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal Chief Executive.

    He said the gesture was support from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who upon hearing the historic and good news, decided to help.

    He stated that the President received the message with joy and directed him to present the items to help save the lactating mother from any hardship as she had been blessed with the babies.

    Daniel Kofi Aboagye, the husband of Madam Ayiemah, who received the items on behalf of his wife and the entire family, thanked the President and the Regional Minister for the support and said the gesture would go a long way to lessen the burden in the feeding and clothing the babies.

    Madam Ayiemah, a farmer at Kwao-Krom, a community near Sefwi Chirano in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipality, said a scan conducted during her pregnancy which revealed she was carrying the four babies, hence she was aware she would deliver quadruplets.

    She, however, expressed concern that it would be difficult for her to take good care of the babies since she did not earn much from her farming activities.

    She also thanked the President for the gesture and appealed to non-governmental organisations and philanthropists to support her to take good care of the children.

     

    Source: Pulse Ghana

  • Teenage girl dumps newly born baby in bush

    A newly born child has been rescued after the mother dumped it in a bush for unknown reasons.

    The young girl, only identified as Maame wrapped the toddler in a polythene bag and dumped it shortly after giving birth.

    In a video circulating on social media, the teenager led a group of people to the site where she dumped the baby after several interrogations and persuasions.

    The videographer is then heard requesting for the child to be taken from the “irresponsible” mother and sent to the hospital to receive medical care.

    The newly born has since been sent to the hospital to receive medical attention.

    Watch the video below.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Man abandons wife after delivering quadruplets

    A 27-year-old woman has been abandoned by her husband after delivering quadruplets at the Bibiani Municipal Hospital in the Western North Region on July 19, 2020.

    The Graphic.com.gh reports that the bolted husband, George Ackah, who works as a cleaner has not been to the hospital since his wife was admitted about five weeks ago.

    According to the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Kwesi Adu-Gyamfi, the woman was referred to their facility from a private health center due to her anaemic condition.

    “After receiving her, I assigned a medical officer to her permanently, we followed her until the 31-weeks where we admitted her and then to 36-weeks when she delivered.”

    “I must say that from the time of admission to the time of delivery, the husband who she said is a cleaner in a private firm, did not pass by the hospital nor answer his calls,” he said.

    The Graphic.com.gh reports that before the arrival of the quadruplets, the unemployed woman already has two children with the bolted husband.

    The health workers at the Bibiani Municipal Hospital in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai municipality, said after the delivery at about 11 a.m. last Sunday (July 19), they had to contribute to get the basic items needed for the upkeep of the children and the feeding of their mother.

    Initial scan

    The mother of the quadruplets first reported for antenatal at a private facility, where initial scan revealed triplets, said the Medical Superintendent of the Bibiani Municipal Hospital.

    “After we performed thorough assessment with further scans we realised they were quadruplets,” he said.

    “For proper care, we adopted what we call Focus Antenatal; we assigned a midwife to the woman, but after some time we did not hear from her again, her phone was also not going through,” he said.

    Asked how her bills and other needs were covered, Dr Adu-Gyamfi said, “From the day she was admitted, all her needs were covered by contributions of the hospital staff, the midwives and the doctors.”

    Call for support

    Upon hearing of the plight of the woman, the running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has supported the woman with GH¢2,000 and promised to do more.

    The Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and former Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, who presented the donation on behalf of Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, said she was touched by the plight of the woman.

    The hospital administration has also called on members of the public to support the woman and her four children.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Missing baby found dead in manhole at Gbawe

    The body of little Kofi Anokye has been recovered from an abandoned manhole in the Weija-Gbawe Municipality of Greater Accra Region.

    “I was playing with my younger brother when I visited the washroom. Upon my return I realised that my brother was nowhere to be found,” the sister of Kofi Anokye, Akosua said to the disappearance of her one-and-half-year-old brother.

    She had initially told Angel FM reporter, Odehye Kwaku Asiedu, that her brother was kidnapped.

    She had claimed seeing a man with a sack loitering around the area but the sack looked heavier with something “shaking” inside it upon her return from the washroom.

    The assembly man of the Gbawe Electoral Area, Andy Oppong, said he got angry when he visited the scene due to the numerous uncovered manholes filled with water around the area.

    “When I came and saw the manhole, I told them this was a deathtrap because children live in nearby houses and they come out to play here,” he stated.

    Mr. Oppong tasked the Municipal Assembly to ensure all “deadly manholes” in the area are either covered or destroyed.

    He also pleaded with parents to be extra vigilant in taking care of their children to prevent such occurrences in the near future.

    Source: angelonline.com.gh

  • Grandmother arrested for selling grandchild for GH¢8,000

    A 45-year-old grandmother and two other persons have been arrested for allegedly selling her two-month-old grandchild for GH¢8,000 at Anyaa in the Ga Central municipality of the Greater Accra Region.

    Grandma Comfort Okai is said to have taken the baby from her 29-year-old daughter and sold her through a third party to a childless woman.

    After taking the baby, the childless woman, in addition to paying GH¢8,000, rented a room for the baby’s mother and her seven children and also bought a new refrigerator for them.

    The woman who bought the baby and her agent are in police custody for investigations.

    Burden

    Confirming the arrest, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, said on June 3, 2020, the Anyaa Police received a report that a woman had sold her grandchild.

    When Madam Okai was arrested, she told the police that she had sold the child to free herself from child care burden, since her daughter already had seven children with different men.

    Mrs Tenge said Madam Okai told the police that she had been weighed down by the burden of caring for her daughter’s children, for which reason she took the decision to sell the eighth child.

     

     

    Baby buyer found

    Madam Okai, according to the police, sold the baby through a 55-year-old woman who concealed the identity of the buyer but rented accommodation for the mother of the baby and her children and also provided a refrigerator for them.

    Mrs Tenge said the woman who acted as an agent initially told the police that the baby was with her childless sister in Takoradi in the Western Region and then later took the police to Ashaiman and Odorkor, both in the Greater Accra Region, in search of the buyer.

    After taking the police on the fruitless journey, she finally led them to recover the baby from the buyer at Dansoman in Accra.

    The buyer and the agent were subsequently arrested to assist with investigations.

     

    Graphic.com.gh 

  • Baby buying deal goes bad, police arrest three persons

    Police in Kumasi, the Ashanti Region capital, have picked up three persons for their roles in a failed attempt to buy a baby from a prostitute at a slum community.

    The slum community where the incident occurred, Asafo BB, is notorious for prostitution and other crimes.

    A news report published by Myjoyonline.com on Thursday explains that the unnamed woman who attempted buying the baby from the prostitute had been married for ten years without a child.

    She contacted a commercial sex worker at the sprawling slum to help her get a baby to buy. She wanted a baby that was less than two months old.

    The report indicates that although the commercial sex worker promised to help get the baby, she later changed her mind because the practice of prostitutes selling their babies at Asafo BB was fast becoming another of the nefarious activities taking place in the area.

    For prostitutes, getting pregnant is bad for business so commercial workers who are unable to abort their babies before they are born sell to willing buyers, the report explained.

    After securing a baby from a colleague sex worker, the sex worker who was helping the buyer to secure the baby also engaged a group of young men to help her to expose the woman who contracted her.

    Negotiation got heated up when the prospective baby buyer who was now in the company of two other ladies realised that the baby presented was five months old. She wanted a two-month-old baby.

    During a brief argument that ensued during the negotiation, the young men who were engaged to expose the prospective baby buyer showed up and dragged the woman to the offices of Luv FM in Kumasi.

    Police were alerted about the incident and they picked up the woman who had been negotiating to buy the baby and the gentlemen.

    The two men were arrested because they are alleged to have stolen money from one of the women in the company of the prospective baby buyer.

    All of them have since been granted bail while police conduct investigations into the matter.

    The baby has also been returned safely to the mother.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Madwoman gives birth; abandons baby at the hospital

    A madwoman has given birth to a bouncing baby girl and has left her in the care of midwives at the Bisease polyclinic in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District.

    According to an eye witness Madam Efua Tawiah, she was on her way to work when some guys who had gathered around a woman beckoned her to come to their assistance.

    “I responded to the call and move towards them. When I got nearer I realized the woman was mentally ill and had just given birth. It got me frightened but they told me not to be afraid and that the woman really needs immediate help. I mustered courage and talked to her politely that I wanted to help her and she agreed so I attended to her and put her in a taxi to the hospital with the placenta still attached,” the eyewitness said.

    Madam Ivy Aidoo, a Midwife at the polyclinic told Kasapa FM News Yaw Boagyan that she was shocked by the conduct of the madwoman when she was brought to the hospital.

    “The madwoman suddenly stood up and shockingly inserted her hand in her private part and pulled out the placenta. She then stormed out of the polyclinic, as she walked out she was talking on top of her voice and was throwing stones. Her conduct threw us into a state of fear. But we realized that the placenta was completely out and so she was out of danger. We examined the baby and realized she was healthy weighing 2.9kg.”

    Madam Ivy Aidoo added that the Officer in Charge of the Polyclinic was informed of the development who then notified officers of the Social Welfare Department who came to access the baby.

    The baby has since been taken to the Social Welfare Department regional office in Cape Coast and will later be sent to an orphanage home.

    Source: kasapafmonline.com

  • Parents lose court appeal over baby’s treatment

    Doctors can stop providing medical treatment for a brain dead baby, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

    The three appeal judges analysed evidence on four-month-old Midrar Ali after a High Court judge concluded that treatment could be withdrawn.

    Midrar’s father said the ruling was “terrible”, after arguing their son had been showing “signs of life”.

    But doctors at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester said Midrar should be allowed a “kind and dignified death”.

    Mrs Justice Lieven, who analysed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester last month, had concluded that Midrar was brain-stem dead.

    Midrar’s parents, Karwan Ali, 35, and Shokhan Namiq, 28, who live in Manchester, had asked appeal judges to overturn this ruling.

    They said he was still growing and that doctors could not be sure that he will not improve, which meant more tests should be carried out.


    Karwan Ali and Shokhan Namiq had asked appeal judges to overturn the High Court ruling

    But appeal judges Sir Andrew McFarlane, Lord Justice Patten and Lady Justice King dismissed their challenge, saying stopping the treatment was in Midrar’s best interest.

    They concluded that Midrar’s parents did not have an arguable case, and declared that their son died at 20:01 GMT on October 1, when he would have been 14 days old.

    Sir Andrew said evidence showed that “awfully” Midrar no longer has a “brain that is recognisable as such”.

    “There is no basis for contemplating that any further tests would result in a different outcome,” he said.

    Midrar was starved of oxygen when the umbilical cord came out ahead of his birth on 18 September, causing complications.

    Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs St Mary’s Hospital, has previously said that Midrar has always been on a ventilator and has never breathed independently.


    Midrar Ali’s parents Karwan Ali and Shokhan Namiq wanted his treatment to continue

     

    It said his organs were deteriorating and continuing to treat Midrar was “undignified”.

    Lawyers representing the hospital’s trust said three tests had confirmed brain stem death.

    Speaking after the latest legal ruling, Mr Ali said: “I’m just reading what the appeal judges have said, then we’ll discuss it with our lawyers.

    “He’s still growing. They can’t be 100% sure he is dead. He’s still growing. His eyes move. I’ve seen them move.”

    The family’s solicitor, David Foster, said Midrar’s parents were considering an appeal and would like the court to “give weight to experts from outside the UK”.

    The next step would be to take the case to the Supreme Court.

    “They believe the law in this area should be reviewed and do not consider Midrar’s condition is necessarily irreversible,” Mr Foster.

    SOurce: BBC

  • Children inherit their intelligence from their mother not their father, say scientists

    A mother’s genetics determines how clever her children are, according to researchers, and the father makes no difference.

    Women are more likely to transmit intelligence genes to their children because they are carried on the X chromosome and women have two of these, while men only have one.

    But in addition to this, scientists now believe genes for advanced cognitive functions which are inherited from the father may be automatically deactivated.

    A category of genes known as “conditioned genes” are thought to work only if they come from the mother in some cases and the father in other cases. Intelligence is believed to be among the conditioned genes that have to come from the mother.

    Laboratory studies using genetically modified mice found that those with an extra dose of maternal genes developed bigger heads and brains, but had little bodies. Those with an extra dose of paternal genes had small brains and larger bodies.

    Mothers meeting their newborn babies

     

    Researchers identified cells that contained only maternal or paternal genes in six different parts of the mouse brains which controlled different cognitive functions, from eating habits to memory.

    Cells with paternal genes accumulated in parts of the limbic system, which is involved in functions such as sex, food and aggression. But researchers did not find any paternal cells in the cerebral cortex, which is where the most advanced cognitive functions take place, such as reasoning, thought, language and planning.

    Concerned that people might not be like mice, researchers in Glasgow took a more human approach to exploring intelligence. They found the theories extrapolated from mice studies bear out in reality when they interviewed 12,686 young people between the ages of 14 and 22 every year from 1994. Despite taking into account several factors, from the participants education to their race and socio-economic status, the team still found the best predictor of intelligence was the IQ of the mother.

    However, research also makes it clear that genetics are not the only determinant of intelligence – only 40 to 60 per cent of intelligence is estimated to be hereditary, leaving a similar chunk dependent on the environment.

    But mothers have also been found to play an extremely significant role in this non-genetic part of intelligence, with some studies suggesting a secure bond between mother and child is intimately tied to intelligence.

    Researchers at the University of Washington found that a secure emotional bond between a mother and child is crucial for the growth of some parts of the brain. After analysing the way a group of mothers related to their children for seven years, the researchers found children who were supported emotionally and had their intellectual needs fulfilled had a 10 per cent larger hippocampus at 13 on average than children whose mothers were emotionally distant. The hippocampus is an area of the brain associated with memory, learning and stress response.

    A strong bond with the mother is thought to give a child a sense of security which allows them to explore the world, and the confidence to solve problems. In addition, devoted, attentive mothers tend to help children solve problems, further helping them to reach their potential.

    Of course, there’s no reason why fathers can’t play as big a nurture role as mothers. And researchers point out that a whole array of other gene determined traits – like intuiton and emotions - which can be inherited from the father are also key to unlocking potential intelligence, so fathers - don’t despair.

    Source: independent.co.uk

  • Portuguese doctor suspended after baby born without a face

    A Portuguese obstetrician has been suspended after a baby was born without a nose, eyes or part of his skull.

    The parents of baby Rodrigo had not been aware of their son’s severe physical abnormalities until he was born earlier this month.

    Medical council officials have voted to suspend Dr Artur Carvalho over allegations of negligence.

    It has emerged that other complaints, dating back more than a decade, have been made involving other babies.

    Reports of those cases, detailed by Portuguese media, have provoked widespread outrage.

    Dr Carvalho has not commented publicly on any of the allegations and the BBC has been unable to reach him directly.

    Read:US baby born on 9/11 at 9:11 weighs 9lb 11oz

    What happened to Rodrigo?

    Rodrigo was born on 7 October at São Bernardo Hospital in Setúbal, about 40km (23 miles) south of Lisbon.

    His mother had been under Dr Carvalho’s care for three ultrasound scans throughout her pregnancy at a private clinic and the parents say the doctor raised no concerns about the foetus’s health.

    The mother then reportedly had a fourth, more detailed, 5D ultrasound at a different clinic while six months pregnant. During that scan the possibility of abnormalities was raised, only for Dr Carvalho to allegedly dismiss concerns.

    “He explained that sometimes some parts of the face are not visible (on ultrasounds)… when the baby’s face is glued to the belly of the mother,” Rodrigo’s aunt was quoted by AFP as telling a local broadcaster.

    After Rodrigo’s birth and his abnormalities became clear, his parents were reportedly told he would only survive for hours.

    However, more than two weeks on, the boy is still alive under hospital care.

    His parents have reportedly submitted a complaint about Dr Carvalho to the Portuguese Prosecutors’ Office.

    Read:Baby dies after home circumcision

    What are the other cases?

    Amid outrage at baby Rodrigo’s case, other complaints against Dr Carvalho have come to light.

    At least six medical complaints are currently open against him, dating back to 2013, according to health officials.

    Other parents have come forward to share their personal stories with Portuguese media of Dr Carvalho’s alleged failure to detect health issues in their own pregnancies.

    In one case a baby was born in 2011 with a facial disfigurement, deformed legs and severe brain damage.

    The mother, named Laura Afonso, told Publico newspaper that she had submitted a criminal complaint against the doctor only for a prosecutor to dismiss it.

    Now aged eight, her child had had multiple operations but still cannot speak or walk, she said.

    Another criminal case where the child died months after their 2007 birth was also reportedly dismissed without reaching trial, Publico reports.

    Read:Tunisian health minister resigns over 11 baby deaths

    What has reaction been?

    The growing scandal has sparked outrage in Portugal. It has raised questions about how the country’s health system works, as well as procedures for complaints.

    Miguel Guimarães, president of Portugal’s medical association (Ordem dos Médicos), last week gave a press conference where he said he had directly contacted Dr Carvalho, given the “social alarm” caused by the case.

    The doctor, he said, had agreed to stop performing procedures while investigations continued.

    The body’s disciplinary council then met earlier this week and unanimously agreed Dr Carvalho should be suspended for six months while investigations continued.

    “There is strong evidence” of the doctor’s negligence, which “may lead to a disciplinary sanction,” Alexandre Valentim Lourenco, medical council chief for the southern region told a local broadcaster after the decision was announced.

    Mr Lourenco said he hoped the suspension would go some way to help “reassure” pregnant women over the scandal.

    Source: bbc.com