Representative image of a newborn baby.
Credit: iStock Photo
Gorakhpur: A woman, angry over her husband's betrayal, refused to accept her newborn son and declined to breastfeed him at a district hospital here, leaving the medical staff in a quandary, officials said here.
After much counselling, the woman agreed to keep the baby and said she would raise him on her own and not give him his father's name.
The woman, who works as a domestic help in Delhi, said she endured labour pains for nearly four hours while travelling on a train before being admitted to the district women's hospital with the help of the Government Railway Police (GRP).
She alleged that her husband abandoned her during pregnancy and later eloped with another woman.
"He left me when I needed him the most. I was alone, in pain, and survived only with the help of strangers," the woman said.
Overcome by anger and a sense of betrayal, she initially refused to accept her newborn and declined to breastfeed him. However, after counselling by hospital staff, she agreed to keep the baby with her, the officials said, District hospital superintendent in-charge Jai Kumar said, "It was very difficult to counsel the woman initially. She has now agreed to keep the baby with her. Once the health of the baby improves, both mother and child will be discharged."
Till then, the hospital staff is taking complete care of them and all possible help is being provided, hospital officials said, adding both the mother and the child are currently under observation.