‘Baby taping’: Grandfather, mother give account to CHR

CEBU, Philippines - The grandfather of the third baby and the mother of the fourth baby whose lips were allegedly taped while at the Cebu Puericulture Center and Maternity House have given their statements to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) – 7.

Lawyer Dante Jadman of CHR-7 said Lucresio Son, the grandfather of the third baby has formalized his statement but the mother of the fourth baby is yet to complete her statement by next week.

Jadman said the mother said her baby was under medication at that time but she reportedly did not see the plaster personally.

“Ingon niya nga wala siya kita sa pacifier ug plaster pero naa sila’y picture nga nilakra ang plaster sa nawng sa baby,” Jadman said.

He said Son is willing to testify in the case couple Ryan Noval and Jasmine Badocdoc is planning to file against the maternity house.

It was Noval who put into the open a photo of his son whose lips were allegedly taped by a nurse at the maternity house to keep the baby from crying.

A copy of Son’s affidavit will also be furnished to the maternity house.

For his part, Noval said he is happy with the developments in the case.

“This is one step closer,” he said, adding that they are still collating all documents before filing the charges.

He said he respects the decision of Lyka Arsua, the mother of the second child, not to shop up at the CHR office.

“Dili man sa ingon nga i-pressure nato sila pero I know nga aware siya nga sa pag-post niya sa photo sa iyang baby, apilon gyod siya og question in time,” Noval said.

“It’s not about us, parents, but it’s for our children,” he added.

MORE QUESTIONS?

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said yesterday the explanation he received from the maternity house “raises more questions than an answer.”

“Assuming they place plaster (on the baby’s mouth), the baby should not be left there unattended. Was it being watched or monitored? Mao nay importante,” Labella said.

Last Tuesday, Labella sent a letter to CPCMHI Medical Director Dr. Raida Varona requesting for a clear and categorical statement from the hospital on the recent controversies.

Quoting the pediatrician of Arsua’s baby, Varona said Baby Blaire was born full term by Normal Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery (NSVD) and was referred for tachypnea and chest retractions. Tachypnea occurs when a respiratory rate is above normal.

“In case the respiratory rate of Baby Blaire is 70-80 breaths per minute. Oxygen inhalation was given to the baby at 2L/minute via nasal cannula as shown in the photo,” Varona said.

“The baby was not allowed to feed because of the chance of aspiration. Because of this, she became agitated and kept on crying which could worsen the condition of the baby. So a pacifier was given to calm the baby whose breathing was very fast,” she said further.

She also said the hospital’s Special Intensive Care Unit (SICU) policy manual, which stipulates the policy on breastfeeding, states that pacifiers are not allowed.

“However, the use of pacifiers in certain special cases like the sick and the premature babies is the discretion of the baby’s pediatrician. It’s not a practice of our nurses to put plaster on the baby’s mouth but only use it to anchor the pacifier to the upper lip or to the side of the mouth as shown in the picture,” Varona explained.

Last Saturday, Arsua posted on her Facebook account pictures of her baby, which shows a tape across the child’s lips to hold a pacifier in place.

Labella said the city government is willing to provide legal assistance to the parents of the baby.

“If the parents would like to send legal assistance from the city, considering that they are city residents, we will help them. We will just wait for (the result of) the fact finding,” he said. —/JMO (FREEMAN)