Tondo baby being bottlefed dies from suffocation

A one-month-old baby girl in Tondo, Manila, died apparently from suffocation after she was bottlefed and left unattended by her father because he fell asleep.

Rogine Ramirez, 36, surrendered to the police shortly after the death of his child Regine.

The initial police investigation showed that Ramirez bottlefed the baby with water to pacify her around 10 a.m. Thursday at their home in the slums on Lico Street. He fell asleep and when he woke up about an hour later, the baby was no longer breathing.

Regine was brought to Ospital ng Tondo where a doctor failed to revive her. It was believed that water had entered the baby’s lungs and the Manila Police District’s report on the incident stated suffocation as the apparent cause of her death, quoting the attending physician, Dr. Fernando Peraldo.

The baby’s parents were both jobless and Rogine was looking after the infant Thursday morning after the mother, Janneth, left the house to find ways to earn quick cash and put food on the table. The couple have another child, a two year old boy, and live in a shanty with no power supply.

According to Dr. Gina Pardilla of the Manila City Health Department, infants with reflexes not yet fully developed are vulnerable to aspiration wherein ingested liquid can go straight to their lungs. It is also one of the reasons breastfeeding advocates like her advise against bottle-feeding, she said.