DOULA UNDER ARREST FOR KILLING NEWBORN

[Anchor Lead]

A postpartum doula form Ulsan has been arrested for allegedly abusing and killing a two-month baby by dropping the newborn. The woman denied the charges by saying it was an accident.

[Pkg]

Last November a woman who just had her second child hired a postpartum caretaker, a doula in her 60s to help her take care of her children at home. The doula had eight years of experience and had taken care of the woman’s first child as well. She was managed by a company that received state subsidies for postnatal care services. One day, when the baby was about two months old, the mother received a call from the doula saying the baby’s heart was not beating, asking her to come to the hospital as soon as possible. The results of the medical exam were shocking. Doctors found fractures and signs of cerebral hemorrhage in the baby’s head and retinal hemorrhage in the left eye — all signs of child abuse. The baby died while receiving medical treatment on the day it had turned 100 days old. The cause of the child’s death is cerebral hemorrhage due to external force. The baby’s parents say the doula had dropped the baby on the floor multiple times even before the tragic incident, but had failed to notify the parents.

[Soundbite] (Baby’s parents) : "Even the doctor was surprised at how late the baby was brought to the hospital. She reported the incident 15 minutes later through my husband and even gave the wrong floor of the apartment."

A recording device that the baby’s parents had installed secretly showed the doula using obscene language when the baby refused to sleep.

[Soundbite] (Swearing)

The caretaker denies child abuse accusations by saying she dropped the baby by accident. Prosecutors have arrested the doula for child abuse and homicide. The first trial is to be held soon.