A newborn baby miraculously survived the first hours of its life after falling inside a pit toilet in Magwai village in the Matlala area outside Polokwane last week.
It is understood the newborn baby dislodged from its mother’s umbilical cord while she was relieving herself in the pit toilet.
The 32-year-old mother is said to have been almost seven months pregnant and mentally ill.
Because of her mental state, witnesses say she did not realise that she gave birth. It was family members and neighbours who heard the baby crying from the pit-toilet who subsequently alerted the police.
The rescue team and police reacted swiftly to rescue the baby boy, who is named Mpho.
According to Dikeledi Mohale from the EMS who arrived at the scene in the morning, “The baby is fortunate to be alive. She fell into a 1, 5-metre deep pit toilet. On arrival, I felt the pain of being a parent and for the innocent baby who was crying in the pit toilet,” she said during a short media briefing in Polokwane.
The baby was taken to the WF Knobel hospital for observation and the matter was handed to the police for further investigations.
The department of Health says it’s delighted with the job done by the team which has rescued the baby.
Provincial rescue team coordinator, Thabo Motana says this is the fourth incident of its kind to happen in the province this year.
