Mother's shock at finding baby in coffin is alive
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A MOTHER in Argentina says she fell to her knees in shock after finding her baby alive in a coffin in the morgue, nearly 12 hours after the girl had been declared dead.
Analia Bouter named her newborn Luz Milagros, or "Miracle Light." The tiny girl, born three months premature, was in critical but improving condition on Wednesday, in the same hospital where the staff pronounced her stillborn on April 3.
The case became public on Tuesday when Rafael Sabatinelli, the deputy health minister in the northern province of Chaco, announced in a news conference that five medical professionals involved have been suspended pending an official investigation.
Bouter told the TeleNoticias TV channel on Tuesday night that doctors gave her the death certificate just 20 minutes after the baby was born, and that she still hasn't received a birth certificate for her tiny girl.
Bouter said the baby was quickly put in a coffin and taken to the morgue's refrigeration room. Twelve hours passed before she and her husband were able to open the coffin to say their last goodbyes.
She said that's when the baby trembled. She thought it was her imagination - then she realized the little girl was alive and dropped to her knees on the morgue floor in shock.
A morgue worker quickly picked up the girl and confirmed she was alive. Bouter's brother then grabbed the baby and ran to the neonatal intensive care unit. The baby was so cold, Bouter said, that "it was like carrying a bottle of ice."
A week later, the child is improving. Bouter said she still has many unanswered questions about what happened.
She said she had to insist on going to the morgue's refrigeration room, where she brought her sister's cellphone to take a picture of the newborn for the funeral. Her husband struggled to open the lid, and then stepped aside to let her see inside.
"I touched her hand and uncovered her face," she said. "That's when I heard a tiny little cry. I told myself I was imagining it. Then I stepped back and saw her waking up. It was as if she was saying 'Mama, you came for me!' That was when I fell to my knees."
She said the family plans to sue staff at Hospital Perrando in the city of Resistencia for malpractice.
But for now they are focused on their child, who Bouter described as amazingly healthy despite being born so prematurely.
Analia Bouter named her newborn Luz Milagros, or "Miracle Light." The tiny girl, born three months premature, was in critical but improving condition on Wednesday, in the same hospital where the staff pronounced her stillborn on April 3.
The case became public on Tuesday when Rafael Sabatinelli, the deputy health minister in the northern province of Chaco, announced in a news conference that five medical professionals involved have been suspended pending an official investigation.
Bouter told the TeleNoticias TV channel on Tuesday night that doctors gave her the death certificate just 20 minutes after the baby was born, and that she still hasn't received a birth certificate for her tiny girl.
Bouter said the baby was quickly put in a coffin and taken to the morgue's refrigeration room. Twelve hours passed before she and her husband were able to open the coffin to say their last goodbyes.
She said that's when the baby trembled. She thought it was her imagination - then she realized the little girl was alive and dropped to her knees on the morgue floor in shock.
A morgue worker quickly picked up the girl and confirmed she was alive. Bouter's brother then grabbed the baby and ran to the neonatal intensive care unit. The baby was so cold, Bouter said, that "it was like carrying a bottle of ice."
A week later, the child is improving. Bouter said she still has many unanswered questions about what happened.
She said she had to insist on going to the morgue's refrigeration room, where she brought her sister's cellphone to take a picture of the newborn for the funeral. Her husband struggled to open the lid, and then stepped aside to let her see inside.
"I touched her hand and uncovered her face," she said. "That's when I heard a tiny little cry. I told myself I was imagining it. Then I stepped back and saw her waking up. It was as if she was saying 'Mama, you came for me!' That was when I fell to my knees."
She said the family plans to sue staff at Hospital Perrando in the city of Resistencia for malpractice.
But for now they are focused on their child, who Bouter described as amazingly healthy despite being born so prematurely.
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