Newborn Baby Found On Park Bench By Random Stranger
A newborn baby, believed to be just days old, was found abandoned on a park bench in Edinburgh, Scotland on Thursday.
Wrapped in only a blanket, the baby has been named Charlotte after the police officer who took her to hospital.
The newborn was spotted by a passer-by Hailesland Park in Edinburgh at about 12.55 pm on Thursday.
Police are checking CCTV footage to try and find the baby’s mother as medics have said she will require urgent medical attention. Officers have said they are also concerned about the mother’s state of mind.
Lawrence Liddell, the passer-by who found Charlotte told Edinburgh Evening News:
“We really couldn’t believe it when we found the baby. It was a really tiny newborn wrapped up in a blanket; she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.”
“She wasn’t crying and she didn’t appear to be in any kind of distress. We think the mother must have wanted the child to be found judging by where she had left it.”
Charlotte is now being cared for at Simpson’s Center for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and is being treated with antibiotics. She weighs 5.7lb (2.6kg).
Maria Wilson, chief midwife at the center said:
“Baby Charlotte has had a good night and is doing well. Our staff are continuing to care for her and we hope the mum and baby can be reunited. I don’t want the mum to feel afraid of contacting us because we treat everything confidentially.”
“I think the things we would want to check are that she is not bleeding or she’s not got any infection or any problems post the birth of her baby that she needs assistance with.”
Chief Inspector Richard Thomas told reporters that he is “greatly concerned” for the baby’s mother and asked that anyone that knew who the mother was to encourage her to see a doctor urgently.
