Tuesday evening a young woman left a baby, born Tuesday, on a street corner in Erie. The baby, who was left in a good neighborhood, was found immediately and apparently is doing fine at the hospital. You can read the story here.
When I first heard of this, I wondered how someone could leave a baby like that. I wondered how anyone could give birth at home, despite the fact that I know this happens in many communities throughout the world. What if the baby wasn't facing the right way? What if the mom's placenta started to rupture? Did she need stitches after? What if the baby became distressed during delivery? So many things could happen during childbirth that it makes me shudder to think of not having the proper medical treatment.
I also wondered why the mom didn't just put the baby up for adoption. The people who would adopt the baby would most likely have taken care of her medical expenses throughout her pregnancy. The people I work with said maybe she was trying to hide her pregnancy. I can't imagine being able to hide full-term-pregnancy belly, but they say it can probably be done, depending on the body type of the mom.
After some more thought, I must say that I not only feel awful for the baby, but I feel bad for the mom, too. You'd think with so many teenage pregnancies and babies born out of wedlock that a young mother would no longer feel like it was necessary to hide her pregnancy and/or secretly give birth to a baby. Seriously -- hasn't the shock of a young, single mom worn off by now? What does this say about our society that this girl may have felt she had no other options? Where was the girl's family and what kind of messages is she receiving from them that she felt she had to delivery a baby at home then leave him at a corner?
So many questions and no answers. We can only hope that as the baby's cared for at the hospital, somewhere, someone is caring for the mom, too.