After being counselled, she agreed to raise the baby. The girl also said she will marry only if her partner wi... Read More

BAREILLY: An 18-year-old unmarried girl who had refused to accept her daughter soon after giving birth at the community health centre in Faridpur changed her mind on Monday and decided to raise the baby after counselling by members of child welfare committee ( CWC ).

DN Sharma, magistrate and member of CWC, said, “After being counselled, she agreed to raise the baby. The girl also said she will marry only if her partner will accept her daughter. The child has been handed over to her.”

According to sources, the girl refused to divulge the identity of the child’s father.

The girl, who was admitted to the community health centre in Faridpur around 2 am on Friday after she complained of abdominal pain, was found nine months pregnant during examination. She later gave birth to a girl child. She told the hospital staff that she did not want to keep the newborn, following which, officials at CHC informed police , sub-divisional magistrate, Childline and CWC.

Medical officer incharge of CHC, Dr Basit Ali, had earlier said, “When our staff realised that she was planning to leave the hospital without the child, we alerted all officials. Only her father came to meet her. Both the mother and child are healthy.”

Ever since the girl had announced that she wanted to abandon the baby, the nurses at the CHC were taking care of the baby. Later, the girl and her family were counselled by the CWC.

