A woman gave birth on a Kahala sidewalk Saturday night. She put her baby in a trash can. A neighboring rescuer called 911 and the infant is reported to be doing well.

I am happy for the child, but weep for the woman. Her behavior indicates severe illness. She will bleed for four or five days, vulnerable to infection.

Reports say that emergency personnel took the infant, but it seems there was no follow-up with the mother. Was there any attempt to find her?

I can’t get this woman out of my mind. Childbirth induces a kind of delirium; nature’s anesthetic. Did she know what she was doing? As a mother, I demand an answer.

Online comments expressed contempt for this human being. I suggest they get off their pedestals and go aid sick street people who are desperately in need. Please recall that childbirth has never been a dignified endeavor. One does not just bounce back from it. The human thing to do for a woman in labor, and after, is to tend to her.

Beverly Kai

Kakaako

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