MP couple abandons newborn with clubfoot, returns after hospital reaches out: Doc

Clubfoot is estimated to afflict nearly 50,000 babies in the country every year and can be treated by use of miniature plaster casts without surgery.

Published on: Jun 24, 2021, 24:09:43 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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BHOPAL: A couple in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district abandoned their baby soon after birth because she has a clubfoot, a treatable condition in which the feet are twisted down and inward, but eventually came back for her after the hospital reached out to them, a government doctor said.

Clubfoot can be treated by use of miniature plaster casts.

The infant’s parents left after getting her admitted to the hospital’s special newborn care unit, said a doctor at the district hospital, 150 km from state capital Bhopal. “The hospital administration has taken care of the baby for the past 36 hours,” the doctor said on condition of anonymity.

Harda district civil surgeon Dr Shirish Raghuvanshi said: “Due to superstition, parents abandoned the baby girl, who was born with congenital deformities, and returned to their village but we counselled them. We also informed them about the law as they can’t leave a baby like that and will have to face criminal action.”

They understood and came back, he added.

On Wednesday, the hospital and district administration brought the parents back to the hospital.

The infant’s mother denied that they abandoned her, insisting that they had gone back to the village to discuss the child’s medical condition. “We didn’t leave the girl… We went to our village to discuss the condition of the baby with the elders,” she said.

“The baby was born 6 years after marriage… We will not leave her,” he said.

Dr Raghuvanshi said the baby was under treatment because she weighs less than 2 kg. “Once she gets stable, we will refer the baby to Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal… orthopedic doctors will treat her.”

Clubfoot is estimated to afflict nearly 50,000 babies in the country every year and can often be treated by use of miniature plaster casts. If it is not treated, it can make it hard for a child to walk without a limp.

(With inputs from Ram Parashar from Harda)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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