Saturday, January 10th NBC 11PM News
So here goes. It was weird listening to the news looking for stories about violence. Usually they're on for the first 15 minutes. Tonight I had to wait. It was okay because at the ripe old age of 56 I've discovered SNL so I was trying to stay awake.
A story came on about a 9 day old baby of a 21 y.o. mom who died. He was having trouble breathing and mom called 911. There is a question as to whether she called early enough. Baby was brought to Jersey City Medical Center and died. An autopsy is supposed to be performed.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Was this a tragic accident or the result of an act of violence, abuse or neglect? I was wondering how many situations like this occur, and DON'T make the news. So,why was this one on the news? Was it mom's age? ethnicity? socioeconomic and marital status? Did any of these influence it?
I followed up today and found something in one of the Jersey papers. Here is the article:
Jersey City police investigate newborn's death
Sunday, January 11, 2009 BY JOE RYANStar-Ledger Staff
Hudson County authorities are investigating the death of a newborn who was taken to a Jersey City hospital yesterday after his mother realized he was having trouble breathing.
The 9-day-old boy died en route to Jersey City Medical Center after his 21-year-old mother called 911, Prosecutor Edward DeFazio and Mark Rabson, a hospital spokesman, said. No obvious bruises or signs of abuse were on the boy's body, but members of the prosecutor's office homicide squad were trying to determine if the unidentified mother waited too long before calling 911, DeFazio said.
"At this point it is being considered a suspicious death, not a homicide," he said. "Based on the investigation, there was some sort of delay between the time the stress was first detected and when emergency services were called."
The child began struggling to breath at some point yesterday morning at the mother's Jersey City apartment, in a four-story brick building on Bergen Avenue, DeFazio said. The mother called 911 at about 1 p.m., DeFazio said.
The mother telephoned relatives for help, but it was unclear if anyone else was with her in the apartment, DeFazio said.
Authorities were interviewing the mother last night. Investigators were also interviewing the child's father, who was not at the apartment yesterday, DeFazio said.
The state regional medical examiner examiner's office in Newark planned to conduct an autopsy today.
Staff writers Sharon Adarlo and Julie O'Connor contributed to this report.
Accident? Ignorance? Act of violence? Intentionality?
What do you think?
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It's sad that a child's death has to be reduced to a police report. I wonder what the mother's response would be if they interviewed her. Maybe she thought she would seem like she was overacting if she called 911 because her child's breathing was slightly off. She called her family for help...did they advise her to call 911? I'm not a parent myself so it is difficult for me to say this was due to ignorance; I am not sure how I would react (panic or cautiously watch my child) if I were in the same situation. But even when the autopsy report does come out...will that prove it was an accident?
ReplyDeleteA woman (especially a young one) waiting a few hours to call 911 doesn't strike me as that odd. Given her age, and the facts that no other children are mentioned and that she called relatives for advice, it sounds like it may have been her first child and she wasn't entirely sure of what to do. For all we know, she may come from a culture in which people don't seek out Western-style medical assistance as their first reaction to a crisis... or she may not have had health insurance and may have feared the costs of an ambulance and ER visit (which can be incredibly expensive).
ReplyDeleteIt can be very hard to detect infant abuse, and given that many of the most publicized cases seem to surround young, inexperienced mothers putting babies in dumpsters and the like, I suppose it's not surprising that this case made the news. But since the child is already dead, I don't think there's anything to be gained by skipping past the "innocent until proven guilty" stage of the proceedings. Trial by media is not appropriate, and if the people publicizing the case aren't careful, I think they run the risk of doing just that to someone who could be an inexperienced, grieving mother instead of a willful child-abuser.
I agree that sometimes news like this are presented to evoke a sense of shock or pity amongst its readers. Many readers may not comprehend why the mother did not seek medical attention earlier. As the primary care giver of the baby, the mother is then blamed for the unfortunate death of her child. I do not think that the mother wanted her baby's death as there are no signs of abuse. It just doesn't make sense that the mother decided to utilize her child's episode of difficult breathing to induce death.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that this story suggests a greater social implication that is prevalent in our society. Who is ready to have a child? Can they become good parents?
Personally, at the age of 22, I am not knowledgable in the basic care of babies (despite my share of baby-sitting). Yet, again, maybe other people are. My mother said that most of her parenting skills were acquired as my brother and I grew up. It is certainly a skill that is gained over a period of time; however, the matter of the fact is that some young parents are not yet ready to support another human being. Obviously, there are often cases of successful young parents with helpful relatives who assist with the development of the child. However, there are sometimes cases where parents do not know what to do.
I am not too familiar with current services for young parents (perhaps someone can provide answers?)
I think your mom is right Olivia. Parenting is on the job training! No instructions included.
ReplyDeleteClasses for young parents?? You're asking the right person. I have been facilitating a program for pregnant and parenting teens here at Mount Sinai - our MOMS Program - for almost 19 years! Next fall you might want to consider taking my What's Sex Got to do with it? Course! Couldn't help but get that plug in. You are also welcome to come sit in on a MOMS group one day if you are free!
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