Naivasha: Mother abandons newborn baby in hospital due to deformity

The family termed the minor as 'cursed' as the mother refused to breastfeed or clothe her after she was born with a rare deformity around her face.

The minor does not have a nose, her skull is not fully formed and some of her fingers and toes are missing. The mother fled ITARC Hospital after seeing the baby. 

Following the move, the management of the hospital located in Longonot town is urgently seeking an expert to conduct surgery around the skull of the baby to save her life.

Benson Kimani , a medic in the facility noted that due to the deformity, the minor was breathing through the mouth raising fears of an infection.

Kimani said that the minor was born in the facility with part of her face missing before the family members escaped, terming her as cursed.

He said they have been tending to her since she was abandoned but she requires collective surgery urgently so that this condition can be rectified.

On his part, Dr Muchai Kimani said that when the infant was born, her mother rejected her due to the community’s beliefs.

Muchai said that the hospital was giving formula milk to the infant as they seek to transfer her to another facility for the specialized surgery.

He said upon birth, the mother would not even look at the minor and refused to breast feed her before fleeing.

The hospital operations manager James Kabuki said that they had managed to get an expert in Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for the collective surgery.

He added that the surgery is very expensive and they shall require a home where the minor can go after the operation and hence a call for interventions.

The facility’s Director Njoroge Wainana expressed commitment in supporting the infant through her medical journey.