Newborn girl found in garbage dump in Vasant Kunj is stable, says Delhi Police

New Delhi [India], October 9 : Delhi police informed on Saturday that the newborn girl who was found in a garbage dump near Rajokri Bus Stand and was admitted to a private hospital in Vasant Kunj is in stable condition.
"On October 8 at 8:12 AM, a PCR call regarding one girl child found lying amid garbage, at Rajokri Bus Stand was received at PS Vasant Kunj South," Delhi police said.
Upon receipt of the information, police staff reached the spot and met the caller near the bus stand Rajokri Pahadi, who told that he noticed one living newborn girl aged about three days lying amid a garbage dump near his house after which he called the police and brought the girl home as it was raining, according to the Delhi police.
The girl child was then handed over to the IO and thereafter she was taken to Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj by police staff, where she is under primary treatment and her health is stable. Further legal action is being taken as per law, the police said.
Earlier on Saturday morning, the two-day-old girl child was found abandoned in a garbage dump in Harijan Basti of Rajokri village in the national capital.
The newborn was handed over to the hospital authorities by the local police.
The child was discovered by two people who were passing by and alerted the police.
A team of doctors led by Dr Rahul Nagpal, Director and HOD, Pediatrics, Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj immediately intervened and took the baby into their care.
On preliminary examination, it appeared that the baby was born less than 24-48 hours ago, was looking blue and her body weight was only two kilograms, lower than the usual weight for a newborn.
Dr Nagpal said, "The baby was drenched due to rain, extremely weak and in a hypothermic state with the umbilical cord attached. She appeared to be a preterm baby and her body temperature was 33 degrees Celsius, lower than the normal 36.4 degrees Celsius. Our team resuscitated her and wrapped her in warm clothing after cleaning her. She was then shifted to the neonatal intensive care unit."
Dr Nagpal further said that the girl child is responding to treatment.
"At present, we are monitoring the oxygen saturation level, correcting her blood sugar, and have stabilized her. We are conducting a few tests to know whether she has any additional medical conditions or if there is any brain damage. The baby is responding to treatment which is a good sign. Fortis Vasant Kunj and its doctors are committed to try our best to save the child," Dr Nagpal added.
The people who discovered the abandoned child said they would be happy to adopt the child, if possible, after her recovery.
"We were going for our morning walk and as we passed a garbage dump, we discovered a baby lying with almost no clothes. We immediately informed the local police, who brought the newborn to Fortis Vasant Kunj. We will be happy to adopt the child, if possible, post her recovery," the local residents said.
Despite efforts by the government and other stakeholders, as per the latest data available, India has 29.6 million orphaned and abandoned children as per UNICEF.
Delhi topped the list among states with the highest number of infants abandoned in any city in India between 2015-2020 according to the National Crime Records Bureau 2020 report.
Among other states, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat registered a high number of abandoned babies, foeticide and infanticides combined within the same period. The key factors may be primarily poverty, archaic societal norms, lack of support services and childcare homes for single mothers and postpartum depression.