Police said they were trying to locate the parents of the baby

Australian police have urged the mother of a baby found dead and buried in the sand at Sydney’s Maroubra beach to come forward.

The body, which was discovered by two young boys, was buried under 30cm (12in) of sand, police said.

Police said they could not immediately tell the age or gender of the baby, as the body was badly decomposed. A post-mortem examination will be conducted.

It comes a week after a newborn was found alive in a drain in Sydney.

“Come and talk to us, seek some advice, we need to talk with you,” said New South Wales state police commissioner Andrew Scipione. He also asked that anyone who might know the mother to speak to authorities.

‘Tragic event’

Police said that the two boys, aged six and seven, discovered the body on Sunday morning while digging in the sand at Maroubra beach.

The baby was a “very small infant child” and had been buried naked, police said.

“The sex and age of the child is unable to be determined at this point due to the decomposition of the body,” Police Inspector Andrew Holland told reporters.

Police organise a search of the sand dunes after the body of a baby is discovered at Maroubra beach, Sydney, 30 November 2014

Police searched through sand dunes on Maroubra beach on Sunday

“Obviously everyone is upset,” he added. “It’s a tragic event. Something like this doesn’t happen every day and it affects everyone involved.”

He said that police were investigating birth, death and marriage records, and visiting local hospitals, to try to locate the parents of the child.

“Police are concerned about the welfare of the mother involved and hope she sought medical assistance,” he added.

The two boys who discovered the body are receiving counselling.

On 23 November, cyclists found a newborn baby abandoned in a stormwater drain in western Sydney.

Police said the boy had been left in the drain for five days before he was rescued.

The mother of the boy has been charged with attempted murder. Her case is expected to be heard in court on 12 December.

New South Wales Police Minister Stuart Ayres said the twin cases raised questions about what should be done to help families that are desperate.

“There is no doubt we find ourselves with two cases that are currently under investigation that requires us to think seriously about what we need to help families that are in crisis,” he said according to AFP news agency.

IMAGE: Police organise a search of the sand dunes after the body of a baby is discovered at Maroubra beach, Sydney, 30 November 2014

For more on this story go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30271698

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Who, What, Why: How can a baby survive in a storm drain?

From BBC

IMAGE: Drain where the baby was found

A newborn baby is receiving treatment after surviving for up to five days in a drain in Sydney, Australia. How is that possible, asks Justin Parkinson.

The baby boy, who was found 2.5m (8ft) down a stormwater drain by the side of a road after passing cyclists heard him crying, is being treated for dehydration and malnutrition.

Dr Simon Newell, vice-president of UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, describes the reports that he is alive after remaining there alone for up to five days as “absolutely amazing”.

He says newborn babies are designed to survive a few days without much in the way of nutrients, as they adapt to the initial difficulties of breastfeeding. They have reserves of fluids and body sugars to keep them going during this period. This means babies do not need many extra fluids for the first four days or so of life in normal conditions.

The Answer

Babies have reserves of fluids and sugars to help them survive their first days

Temperatures underground are stable and the baby was protected from direct sun

There was no rain so the drain was dry

But it is unlikely the boy could have survived as long as five days in abnormal conditions, such as a drain, without access to any water or nutrients, according to Newell. He suggests the information about when the baby was left in the drain could be inaccurate.

Sydney has been experiencing daytime high temperatures of up to about 40C during the past week and, crucially, overnight lows have not gone below about 18C. Dry conditions mean little or no water was likely to have flowed through the drain. The naturally stabilising effect that being underground has on temperature, and the protection from direct sun, may have provided good survival conditions.

“I doubt the child would have lasted this long in the UK,” says Newell, “particularly at this time of year, when temperatures are so much lower.”

If the baby was indeed underground for five days he was probably found in the nick of time, as bodily functions would normally be expected to break down before this stage.

His condition is described as a serious but stable and he is likely to be receiving intravenous fluids and possibly oxygen at Sydney’s Westmead Children’s Hospital.

The fact that he was crying loudly when discovered is a good sign, according to Newell. “I would be quietly optimistic that a healthy child can come out of this, without being damaged in some way,” he says. “It takes a lot of effort for a baby to cry and it means there is a good chance. Babies are tougher than they’re given credit for.”

For more on this story go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30175726

Mother charged for abandoning baby in drain in Sydney

From BBC

The baby is receiving treatment at Sydney’s Westmead Children’s Hospital

Australian police have charged a 30-year-old woman with attempted murder after she abandoned her newborn baby in a drain in western Sydney.

They say the baby boy, who is in a serious but stable condition, may have survived up to five days in the drain.

He was discovered 2.5m (8ft) down inside the pit by a group of passing cyclists on Sunday morning.

It took several people to lift the heavy concrete slab to rescue the baby, who was malnourished and dehydrated.

Police believe the baby was born last Monday and 24 hours later was squeezed through the narrow opening of a stormwater drain, falling 2.5 metres.

The baby is currently receiving treatment at Sydney’s Westmead Children’s Hospital.

Hospital blanket

It is a distressing story of abandonment and an amazing story of survival, says the BBC’s Phil Mercer in Sydney.

Police doubt the baby would have survived much longer, given that in the past few days Sydney has had record breaking temperatures in excess of 40C, he adds.

David Otte and his daughter were alerted to the baby’s crying as they cycled near the M7 motorway at Quakers Hill on Sunday morning, according to local reports.

“It was so intense. You couldn’t not tell it was a baby,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Mr Otte as saying.

Newborn baby after rescue on 23 November 2014

The baby boy was wrapped in what appeared to be a hospital blanket when he was found

Drain where the baby was found near the M7 motorway at Quakers Hill, western Sydney, 23 November 2014

The cyclists said they “couldn’t see it but we could hear it”

“We couldn’t see it but we could hear it. It was distressed.”

Police said they found the mother after checking hospital records and knocking on doors in the local area.

Local police inspector David Lagats described the discovery of the baby as “disturbing”.

He told reporters the baby was found wrapped in a striped blanket similar to what is given to newborn babies in hospital.

“The umbilical cord had been cut and had been clamped so there appears to have been some sort of medical intervention since his birth,” he added.

The mother of the baby was represented legally in a Sydney court on Monday but did not appear in person, ABC reports.

She has been formally denied bail and is expected to appear in court on Friday.

The local magistrate reportedly recommended the mother receive post-natal care whilst in custody.

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30172577