After mother stabs him
90 times
The infant lives with his mother and two uncles, who make a living recycling trash. Xiao Bao was discovered by one of the uncles who found him lying in a pool of blood in the yard of their home and rushed him to hospital. The mother later confessed to the brutal attack.
The child's mother later confessed that she stabbed the baby after he bit her during breastfeeding.
Neighbors have pleaded with the local government to take
the baby away - but they say they will not intervene in the case.
Local authorities reportedly said that there was no confirmation that the child's mother was suffering from a mental illness. They also pointed to the fact that the baby still has two guardians in the form of his two uncles.
Mental illness remains a relatively closed topic in modern China. Neither medication nor modern psychiatric treatment is widely used. An analysis of mental health issues in four Chinese provinces, published in 2009 in the British medical journal The Lancet, estimated that 91 per cent of the 173 million Chinese adults that were believed to suffer mental problems never receive professional help.
The incident appears to be the result of the various emotional states and upsets that happen to new mothers. "The birth of a baby can trigger a jumble of powerful emotions, from excitement and joy to fear and anxiety. But it can also result in something you might not expect - depression," the Mayo Clinic says on its Web site concerning post-partum depression.
"Many new moms experience the 'baby blues' after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings and crying spells that fade quickly. But some new moms experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression known as postpartum depression. Rarely, an extreme form of postpartum depression known as postpartum psychosis develops after childbirth.
"Postpartum depression isn't a character flaw or a weakness. Sometimes it's simply a complication of giving birth. If you have postpartum depression, prompt treatment can help you manage your symptoms - and enjoy your baby," the clinic says.
