JEDDAH: A 38-year-old woman abandoned her newborn baby girl in a Jeddah hospital and escaped during visiting hours.
The mother, whose identity has not been disclosed, had just given birth to her seventh child. It is unknown why she fled the hospital. It is, however, assumed she might be either mentally unwell or suffering from family problems.
“We know the identity and the exact address of the woman. The police have already asked her to come back and take the baby,” said Dr. Sami Badawood, director of Health Affairs in Jeddah.
“We think she might be experiencing some psychological and social problems that made her leave the hospital without her newborn baby,” he added.
Soon after they discovered the mother’s disappearance, hospital staff made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the father.
Police are now waiting for the mother to come back to the hospital.
According to a report published in a local newspaper yesterday, the baby is healthy and was delivered normally.
Badawood said the woman’s residency documents are in order and she went through routine procedures that all expecting mothers go through before they are admitted to governmental hospitals.
