A baby in China has been saved after her teenage mother abandoned her in a stinky ditch with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached.
The newborn child was found this week covered with flies and fly eggs as she was left to die in the rubbish-laden channel, said doctors in Jiangyou city.
She was also said to have a small bleeding hole on her head with her skull visible. The cause of the wound remains unknown.
The tiny girl, deserted hours after she was born, was in critical condition upon discovery. She had a weak pulse and her skin had turned blue when a cleaner spotted her.
The sanitation worker discovered the baby in the town of Hanzeng Wednesday afternoon.
The worker and another passerby called the police, who rushed to the scene to remove the baby from the trench.
Doctors from a nearby hospital were called to the scene by police to provide first aid to the child. She was then taken to a larger hospital in the city.
The girl had been born for less than 24 hours, according to a statement from Jiangyou People's Hospital which is treating the child.
Dr Liu Haixia, a paediatrician, said the baby's pulse was extremely weak and her whole body felt cold when she was sent to the hospital.
Dr Liu said the hole on the baby's head was small - about 0.3 centimetres wide - but blood kept coming out. In addition, her face, ear canals, nostrils and hair was full of fly eggs.
Jiangyou police have detained two people in relation to the incident: the baby's 17-year-old mother Li and Li's 46-year-old mother Zhang.
Li and Zhang have admitted to the abandonment, according to a police statement. Further investigation is under way.
The baby's condition has stablised, according to the hospital.
Abandoned baby is covered by maggots after being dumped in a ditch
The baby was dumped by her 17-year-old mother hours after she was born in China. Doctors also discovered a small bleeding hole on her head with her skull visible. She is now in stable condition.
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