A 22-year-old mother, Deborah Appiah, also known as Yaa Edua has been arrested for abandoning her newborn baby in a hospital at Assin Fosu in the Central Region.
The mother reportedly fled the St. Francis Xavier Hospital after doctors notified her that the baby was born with health complications.
She was expected to pay a GHS 3,000 bill required to perform surgery for the baby’s congenital abnormality.
According to Dr. Emmanuel Agbemetu, the medical officer in charge of the case, the young mother bolted from the hospital after he explained to her that the child’s condition required immediate intervention.
The hospital management reported the case to the police and Deborah was later apprehended at her hideout.
During interrogations, she admitted to the police that she abandoned her child because the doctor indicated that they would be referred for further treatment at the Okomfo Teaching Hospital in Kumasi and she could not afford to pay the bill.
She also added that the father of the child has refused to take responsibility for the baby leaving her helpless.