Couple Abandons Newborn in Chittagong Hospital, Later Reunited

In a private hospital in Chittagong, a couple fled, leaving their newborn daughter behind after her birth. After 16 days of no contact with the parents, the hospital authorities sought police assistance. Eventually, the police located the couple and brought them back to the hospital. On Wednesday afternoon, in the presence of the police, the mother tearfully reunited with her child.

Ridwanul Haque, director of Asian Hospital in Chittagong’s Dewanhat area, that the baby, who was initially unwell, recovered and was cleared for discharge by doctors. However, the parents could not be traced. The hospital relied on other mothers to breastfeed the infant.

According to police and hospital sources, the mother, whose husband is a CNG auto-rickshaw driver from Rangunia upazila, was admitted to Asian Hospital on July 18. That night, she gave birth to a girl via cesarean section. The newborn, being unwell, was placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Four days later, on July 22, the mother was discharged after paying Tk 40,000 of the Tk 46,000 hospital bill. However, the couple left the hospital, abandoning their newborn. Despite repeated attempts, the hospital failed to contact the couple. On August 1, the hospital formally informed Chakbazar Police Station. Zahidul Kabir, the officer-in-charge (OC) of the station, told that the police traced the couple to their addresses in Raozan and Rangunia and brought them to Chittagong, covering their travel expenses. The OC added that the hospital bill had accumulated to Tk 303,000 over 19 days, an amount the family could not afford, causing them to avoid returning to the hospital out of fear. A generous individual paid Tk 15,000 of the bill, and the hospital waived the remaining amount. The baby’s mother, grandmother, and grandfather were present at the hospital. They told that they could not afford the expenses and were unaware that the hospital could waive or reduce the bill. The mother said, “I cried every day. It was painful to leave my daughter, but we couldn’t come back due to lack of money.” The baby’s father, who did not visit the hospital that day, “The cesarean section cost Tk 40,000, and we had no money left after that. That’s why we didn’t return.” Salahuddin, the hospital’s managing director, said that bills are waived as much as possible for poor patients and would have been in this case if the family had informed them earlier.