Woman delivers baby in shop’s bathroom

Police are said to be investigating an incident in which a woman gave birth to a baby at Clare Valley yesterday.

Reports are that on Monday morning, around 10.30, a mother of seven gave birth to the baby in a bathroom located at the back of a shop in the area. She and the baby were rushed to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) by concerned persons.{{more}}

The baby is said to have been pronounced dead at the MCMH.

Upset residents claim that the woman had been consuming alcohol on the morning of the incident, something that she has been doing throughout her pregnancy.

Persons who spoke of the incident were unable to say if the baby was born dead or if it died after birth, but someone close to the woman said that since she found out that she was pregnant, she never attended clinic or visited a doctor for prenatal care.

A member of the local legal fraternity told SEARCHLIGHT on Monday that the possibility exists that if the police, through thorough investigation, are able to prove that the child received no prenatal care and that the mother was consuming large amounts of alcohol and that the child was born alive, but died, then the possibility exists that she could be charged with a crime.

Local doctor Alisha Bonadie said that alcohol is extremely dangerous to an unborn child, as alcohol in the mother’s blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord.

Dr Bonadie noted that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of lifelong physical, behavioural, and intellectual disabilities. These disabilities are known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

In the United Kingdom, in November 2014, drinking while pregnant was being explored as a “crime of violence”.

An online publication, ‘Independent,’ said that a woman who consumed a “grossly excessive” amount of alcohol during her pregnancy was said to have committed a crime.

Reports are that lawyers for a council in the North West of England were seeking compensation for a seven-year-old girl, known as child ‘CP,’ with “growth-retardation” allegedly caused by her mother’s excessive drinking while pregnant.

The publication said that the mother was described as drinking “an enormous amount” while carrying the child, including half a bottle of vodka and eight cans of strong lager a day.

The child was born with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).

The Court of Appeals has reserved its judgement in the case of CP, and said the court will take time to consider its decision. (LC)