The newborn baby found in a Jinhua city apartment building's sewer pipeline got there by accident, according to the baby's mother.
The BBC reported that the mother, who has not been identified, told Chinese police that she gave birth unexpectedly while she was on the toilet. Before she could catch the child, it slipped into the sewage and out of sight.
The 22-year-old mother was allegedly first to call attention to the trapped baby, but did not acknowledge that it was her child until much later.
The baby was cut free from the four-inch diameter pipeline and is now in stable condition in a nearby hospital.
Chinese news service Zhezhong News said that the young mother claimed she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, kept her child-bearing under wraps and did not have enough money for a proper abortion. She told authorities that she did not think she could afford, nor take care of the newborn. She did not tell anyone that she had given birth to the baby initially, but upon further questioning by police, admitted it was her child.
When she sat on the toilet, she inadvertently went into labor and tried to grab the newborn as it exited her womb.
But she couldn't get a hold quickly enough, and the baby boy ended up in the belly of the building.
Police have said they will look more deeply into the case to see whether or not the happenstance indeed occurred by accident.
Rescue teams first arrived on the scene this past Saturday, after residents reported hearing a baby screaming from within the walls of the apartment complex.
Fire fighters cut the child free from the sewage after going one floor below and sawing off a portion of the pipe.
In a video depicting the rescue, authorities peel back a piece of the metal to reveal a tiny fetus with blue, chapped lips and grey skin. (See video below. Contains graphic images).
"There it is, there it is!" one rescue team member said, alarmed. "Oh my!"
Authorities immediately put the infant in the hospital where he was treated for low heart rate and labored breathing.
The baby also sustained some minor injuries on his head and limbs, but is reported to be in good health.
Meanwhile, the community has responded with acts of charity, donating scores of clothing, diapers and formula. The hospital has said they would pay for all the child's medical bills.
The baby has been named No. 59, after his hospital incubator's number.
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