Baby found in bushes…

Here is a story for you.  I am now the primary caregiver (temporary) of a newborn baby girl.  Her name is Kisakye (key-sah-chee) Amy Joy and today she is 3 days old.

At some point in the early hours of March 31, in a village about 30 minutes from here, a woman or teenage girl gave birth to a baby girl.  The umbilical cord was tied off with a bit of twine and the baby was dropped, naked, still covered with birth fluids, into some bushes and left there.  At 6:00am a farmer found her as he was walking to tend his crops.  She was taken to a local police outpost and a bit later that day Another Hope was called and asked to take care of her.  The director here gave her a name, Kisakye, meaning God’s Grace and Amy, from an American movie she really likes.  I took over her care on Thursday at about 5:00pm.

Needless to say, she was dirty and hungry and needed all sorts of baby things, but apart from having some nasty eye goo she seemed healthy.  My estimate was she weighed between 6 and 7 pounds.  The entire home was fascinated with her, wanting to watch her getting a bath and taking a bottle.  They all marvelled at her tiny hands and feet and were horrified at her umbilical cord stump (which is alarming if you have never seen a newborn’s belly button).

Yesterday we went into Mulago hospital to be checked out at the pediatric clinic.  She received her first immunizations, weighed in at 3.5kg (7.7 pounds) and was given anti-biotic ointment for her eyes.  The doctor declared her healthy and sent us on our way with instructions to return for follow-up testing and health check in 6 weeks.  I will, of course, be home by then, but someone else will take up where I leave off.

OK, it has been a few years since I was actually responsible for a new-born baby, but I am having a great time.  Amy is beautiful, with soft, dark, curly hair and big brown eyes.  She makes funny little baby expressions and likes to be all scrunched up in a blanket.  She sleeps on my bed (under the mosquito net) for about 4 hours at a time and takes formula from a bottle without too much difficulty.  She has gas pains at night and needs to be walked about and patted on the back.  I have made a sling-type arrangement out of some fabric so I can carry her when I have to walk somewhere and need my hands free.  The other kids watch her and comment on how light her skin appears.  I try to explain that her skin will get darker as she gets older, but I am not sure they believe me.

It is hard to speculate on why someone would drop a healthy baby outside like so much garbage.  Perhaps Amy’s mother was a young teenage girl who was raped and left pregnant or maybe she was disgraced because she was pregnant and without a husband.  It is possible her mother was desperately poor or is HIV positive.  There are many scenarios in a country such as this as to why a baby would be abandoned.  However, not only is Amy’s story shocking to us, but also to all of the Ugandan people who hear it.  It is not common to treat a baby in such a way. 

As to her future, that is another unknown.  This orphanage has only been given temporary custody and Amy may be transferred to an abandoned babies home in Kampala.  Because she has no biological family, it would not be uncommon for her to be adopted, or she may stay here if the home gets permanent guardianship.  But for now, she is warm and dry and full and well looked after.

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