Vanderbijlpark Residents Find Foetus Floating in Faeces, Tragic Discovery Made in Blocked Sewer

• Community members in Vanderbijlpark discovered a foetus floating in faeces in the street
• Residents complained for weeks of blocked drains in the area, which caused the overflow
• A healthcare professional detailed what mothers could do instead of dumping their babies

GAUTENG – The community of Vanderbijlpark is still reeling after residents made a disturbing discovery.

Community members driving along Westinghouse Boulevard discovered a foetus that was in a blocked sewer.

The foetus was found floating in faeces.

Residents complained of overflowing drainage system

Residents in the area complained that they had been dealing with sewage flooding the streets for about three weeks.

Despite numerous calls to the municipality, nothing was done, but that all came to a head when passing motorists discovered the foetus.

A couple driving past the overflowing sewage spotted something floating in the faeces and got out of their vehicle to take a closer look. It was then that they discovered the tiny body.

Read also

79 Children killed in Cape Flats since September, community wants state of emergency to be declared

Expectant mothers don’t have to

South Africa is experiencing a serious problem of babies being dumped.

Faith-based organisation Doors of Hope revealed that thousands of babies were dumped every year in the country, with two out of every three of them dying.

While many mothers turn to dumping their babies, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Shabana Rajkumar, Operational Manager Nursing for Primary Healthcare spoke to Briefly News about the options mothers had.

She explained that when mothers find out they are pregnant, they can visit clinics to receive health education of their choice.

“They have a choice of termination of pregnancy, or they have a choice to continue with antenatal care,” Rajkumar said.

She added that the onus was then on the mothers to do so, and it had to be done within three months.

“Services are available. Medical care is available. There are so many options rather than dumping the foetus or the baby, she said.”

Read also

Clip shows Vaal woman scolded, thrown out for trying to register spaza owned by foreign nationals

Foetus found dumped in dustbin

In a related article, paramedics recently responded to two cases of babies being dumped.

In the first case, paramedics responded to a scene in Glenwood where a foetus was found in a dustbin.

Briefly News reported that a newborn baby boy's dead body was found dumped in a bush in the second case.

Source: Briefly News