A woman believed to be the mother of a newborn baby dumped in a backyard in Sydney’s west has revealed why she felt compelled to abandon the child.
The naked baby girl – barely an hour old – was discovered alone on a wicker chair next to a children’s play-set at a Blacktown residence on Friday, April 21.
She was covered in birth fluids, with the umbilical cord still attached, as she lay on a cushion – her mother nowhere to be seen.
But following a segment on A Current Affair featuring an impassioned plea from teenager Jessica Boatright, who was also abandoned as a baby, it’s understood the woman felt she needed to come forward.
‘Just even knowing a name or a photo would help this little child move through life,’ Ms Boatright said.
Jessica Boatright (pictured) was also abandoned as a baby and her heartfelt plea was what made the mother speak up
A woman claiming to be the baby’s mother has been found but police are still waiting on DNA tests to confirm the pair are related.
ACA Reporter Dimity Clancy said she was told by sources close to the woman that she had felt the need to speak up after seeing Ms Boatright’s plea.
The mother, aged in her 30s, also revealed she left the hours-old baby in a stranger’s backyard because she was new to the country and feared she would be unable to properly care for the child.
She said she had thought about her constantly since and just wanted to hug her.
The infant has spent the last two weeks recovering in Blacktown hospital after becoming unwell – but is set to go into foster care soon.
It is unknown if the mother will now want to take care of the baby with the help of support services.
The naked baby girl – barely an hour old – was discovered alone on a wicker chair next to a children’s playset at a Blacktown residence on Friday, April 21 (pictured, the play-set with the wicker chair in the background)
Detective Inspector Jason Pietruszka said police did not have any leads on who the mum of the baby is before she contacted them herself (stock image)
Speaking two weeks ago, Detective Inspector Jason Pietruszka said police were still trying to work out what happened.
‘We want to know what has occurred, what’s the back story behind it,’ he told The Saturday Telegraph.
‘It’s sure to be quite sad, tragic, but that’s why we are police officers, to find the truth so we can help.
‘We don’t have the answers at the moment and that is frustrating, but we are appealing at a grassroots level for people in this proud community to come forward.’
He urged residents in the area to report anything unusual – like someone looking like they were in trouble or acting out of the ordinary.
Inspector Pietruszka previously said if the mother does not come forward the baby will be available for adoption – adding the infant was ‘doing well’ despite the state it was found in.
The infant was covered in birth fluids with the umbilical cord still attached to her as she lay on a cushion near a child’s playset (pictured)
Ann Carlos who lives at the residence where the infant was found said her sister Lara discovered the baby when she went out to hang washing on the clothesline.
The family wrapped the chilly newborn in a towel before ringing triple-0 as paramedics instructed them over the phone how to clamp the umbilical cord.
‘I couldn’t find anything in the kitchen, so I grabbed a shoelace and used that…then [paramedics] talked me through how to do it,’ Ms Carlos told The Daily Telegraph.
‘We knew she had been born very recently, like only hours earlier, because she still had the white stuff [vernix] on her head.’
She said she thinks the newborn was cleaned up before being dumped in their backyard as there ‘wasn’t much blood’ on her.
A police statement at the time said: ‘Investigations into identifying the parents of a baby abandoned in Sydney’s west last month are ongoing.
‘Detectives from Blacktown Police Area Command have conducted extensive inquiries since the newborn baby girl was found in the backyard of a home on Girra Road at Blacktown on Friday 21 April 2023.
‘As those inquiries are ongoing, we are unable to provide further information about the investigation, including the various lines of inquiry being conducted.’
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