A mother in Britain will spend time in prison after she deliberately hid her baby girl in a bed drawer for three years and fed the child with a syringe.
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On Tuesday, the mom was sentenced to a total of seven years and six months imprisonment.
Court heard that after the mother gave birth in a bath tub at her Cheshire home in 2020, the child — born with a cleft palate — was kept away from family and friends by being hidden in a divan bed drawer.
Prosecutors said the mother would feed the baby milky Weetabix cereal through a medical syringe.
When the woman went to work or took her other children to school, the baby was left alone in the drawer for hours on end.
“This child has been subjected to extreme neglect of her health, development, and basic care needs since before she was born,” Senior Crown Prosecutor Rachel Worthington said.
“She was left on her own for long periods of time, sleeping in an inappropriate and too small space, and receiving inadequate nutrition.”
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The mother explained that she was in an abusive relationship with the father at the time and didn’t want him to know she was pregnant.
The child was eventually discovered in February 2023 by the mother’s partner. The man heard what he thought was a noise coming from a baby and went to use the washroom upstairs.
At the time, the mother forbid any visitors to be on the second floor of the home.
Once inside the room, the man followed the noise and found the child, who was almost three years old, malnourished and with matted hair.
“Since March 2023, I have thought about (the baby) and this case often,” a social worker said. “My initial feelings and thoughts when we entered the mother’s bedroom was of disbelief.”
According to the social worker, the mother walked round the side of the bed to reveal the child in the drawer.
“I was taken aback by what I saw and was extremely shocked to see a baby looking up at me sat in a divan drawer,” the social worker said.
“(The baby) stared at me and was rocking back and forth. I looked at her mum and asked, ‘Is this where you keep her?’ The mother replied matter of factly, ‘Yes, in the drawer.’
“I was shocked the mother did not show any emotion and appeared blasé about the situation. I asked had anyone else ever seen (the child)? Mum stated no.”
After being examined by doctors, the baby was unable to crawl, walk, talk or make any noises while only making repetitive “self-soothing” movements, such as rocking, court heard.
She was significantly malnourished, unkempt, dehydrated, had an untreated cleft lip and palate, swollen abdomen, significant diaper rash, and poor muscle bulk.
She also had floppy limbs, swollen feet in an abnormal position and redness to the outer limbs.
At the age of 35 months, medical experts testified her development was markedly delayed and was the equivalent to that of a 10-month-old, mainly due to the extreme nature of neglect.
“This child has never had a birthday present, a Christmas present or anything to recognize these days,” Worthington said.
“She’s had no interaction with any of her siblings. She hadn’t known daylight or fresh air and didn’t respond to her own name when she was first found.”
Worthington said the motive behind the woman’s behaviour was still not clear.
“I am a mother myself and simply couldn’t comprehend what this defendant had done or why,” she added.