The condition of a baby found Monday night in a garbage bin in Bali has started to stabilize.
The baby, a boy, weighs just 2.2 kilograms and is still currently undergoing intensive treatment in an incubator, since he is still infection-prone.
“The baby is being treated in an incubator because he was born with a low weight, but his condition is stable and his organs are complete,” Tabanan General Hospital director, Dr. Nyoman Susila, said on Tuesday to Bali Post.
The placenta was still attached when the baby was found amongst rubbish, placed in cardboard and wrapped in plastic at a market in Penebel, Tabanan. He had hypothermia and problems breathing. A vendor at the market had heard a baby’s cry.
“His condition is still being monitored, as he enters the infection-prone phase, so for now, no one other than medical staff should enter the room,” Susila said.
Once the infant’s weight reaches 2.5 kilograms, he can be submitted to social services and the police for a follow-up.
After extensive local media coverage on the baby’s discovery, there has been an overwhelming amount of inquiries to adopt the baby, who appears to have been abandoned by his mother shortly after birth.
“Many have contacted us, but we explained to them that we are only in charge of caring for the baby until his condition is ready for him to move on to social services.”
Contacted separately, Penebel Police Chief Nengah Sudiarta said it’s inconceivable that someone would have the heart to throw out their child.
Police have launched an investigation to try and find the child’s birth mother, searching through data of pregnant woman in the area and also checking CCTV around the spot where the infant was discovered—though police are not yet sure if the mother is even local to the area.
“Unfortunately there was no CCTV directly at the crime scene, but we are still checking for the perpetrator’s identity and if the perpetrator passed any surveillance cameras at a nearby bank,” Sudiarta said.
“It’s possible that the mother panicked after giving birth and was hoping he would be found and be taken care of by others. We are still investigating,” Sudiarta said.
While child abandonment is not exceedingly common in Bali, there seem to be a growing number of cases in recent years of newborn babies or fetuses found discarded on the island.
Child abandonment charges in Indonesia carry a prison term of up to five years and a fine.
