Appeal to mother of abandoned baby April
April, the name give to her by staff at Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin, in Dublin, was found over the weekend outside the main door of a church in Kildare. She is believed to be less than a week old.
She is the third baby in six months to be abandoned in this country by their mothers. One little boy was found wrapped in tinfoil at a bus shelter six weeks ago, another little girl was found in a hold-all bag on the bonnet of a car last October and April was found wrapped in a towel inside a Marks & Spencers' shopping bag outside the main door of the Church of Our Lady's Nativity in Leixlip on Saturday morning.
Church sacristan 77-year-old Paddy Kennedy found the infant asleep in the plastic bag when he arrived to open the church for Saturday morning Mass.
"It was a bit of a shock," said Paddy. "I was lucky I didn't kick the bag. I thought they were leaving bags of rubbish at the door."
The baby was dressed in a white babygro with teddy bears and wrapped in a pink towel. Hospital staff say she is in perfect health, was well cared for and weighs 3.9kg.
It is believed she may have been born in hospital and had not been left long outside the church before she was found. Her mother may have been familiar with its opening times.
Hospital staff and the gardaí have urged the baby's mother to come forward.
Gardaí yesterday said their primary concern is for the health of the mother and assured her she will be treated with compassion and confidentiality if she does come forward.
However, it is feared April's mum may never be tracked down. The mothers of the two other babies abandoned within the last six months have still not been traced. One woman did come forward to claim the baby boy wrapped in tinfoil and a towel, but DNA tests showed the Cork woman could not have been his mother.
Despite two high profile appeals from gardaí, the mother of the baby girl found last October 13 on the grounds of Cork's South Infirmary Hospital, has not been located either. The baby, called Sophia by her carers, is reported to be doing well in foster care.
Anyone with any information about April's mum can contact gardaí at Leixlip on 01 6667800 or any garda station.
