Baby Rose

     I first saw baby Rose shortly after she arrived at the orphanage in November.

Rose at four months

Sue, the orphanage administrator, walked into the dining hall with Rose cradled in her arms. Rose was four months old and weighted four pounds. She was all bones. Her mother had been visiting a clinic and had received baby formula for her but Rose was not gaining weight. The mother was clearly not feeding her. So Rose was brought to Sue’s orphanage. Rose was so weak that Sue had to feed her with an eyedropper, a little bit at a time. She gained almost a pound and a half in her first 10 days at Sue’s orphanage. Rose is one of the fortunate babies. She is at an orphanage.

     A conversation with Sue at lunch one day provided a look into

Rose at four months

how babies like Rose end up at the orphanage. A mother sometimes comes to the orphanage to give up her baby. She might have two, three or more children already. She is poor, too poor to be able to feed all her children. And now she has another child to feed. These are difficult choices for the mother. So she brings the newborn to an orphanage and asks the orphanage to take care of her baby, because she is unable to care for her. Do these mothers ever return to reclaim their child? I don’t know. I’m hoping that sometimes, yes. But realistically, more often, no.

     Earlier this month, Sue received a newborn baby just 10 days old. The mother brought the baby and gave her to Sue. “Just like that?” I asked Sue, “No regrets, no explanation?” “Oh, I already have two of her babies from before”, Sue explained. I was stunned. Two babies already? “Oh, yes”, Sue said. “The mother was not going to feed her. If I did not take this baby, she’d be dead in less than a week.”

     Sue went on to explain that the mother had tried to abort this pregnancy twice using drugs she bought on the street. Abortion is illegal in Haiti so young women and girls turn to herbal concoctions and drugs that are readily available on the street. As a result, post-abortion complications have become an emerging public health problem in Haiti accounting for as much as 30% of maternal deaths. NPR’s Michel Martin interviewed Jacqueline Charles, of the Miami Herald, about the issue back in December
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=248990602). Contraception is available in Haiti, but is not widely available. So against this backdrop, the babies, like baby Rose, keep arriving at orphanages like Sue’s.

Rose at seven months

     Today, Rose is almost seven months old and weighs about 10 pounds. Rose is doing very well. She has a home. She is well fed. She receives medical attention when she needs it. She will go to school when she is older. Rose is loved. Rose is at Sue’s orphanage. Of all the babies born every day in Haiti, Rose is one of the fortunate ones.

Post Script to Baby Rose

I asked Sue about the other children at her orphanage. Most of her kids eventually are adopted. All but a few of her current 26 children are in the process of being adopted. But not Baby Rose. It is too soon. Her mother may still come back for Rose. I doubt it.