Dead Newborn on Cruise Ship Is Sad, But Not Shocking

on October 17, 2011 at 2:28 PM

carnival ship In today's horrifying and sickening news, the newborn baby of a 20-year-old mother was found dead aboard the Carnival Dream luxury cruise ship. The body was discovered in a guest cabin by a member of the crew, who immediately notified authorities, including the FBI. The baby's mother, who has not been charged, was a passenger from the United States.

So, okay, a million things ran through my mind and body, as I'm sure they're running through yours, when I first stumbled across this news. Predominantly shock and sadness, but followed closely by: WTF?

How does something like this happen? Who leaves a deceased newborn alone in a guest cabin? I immediately went to one of those terrible stories where the young mother gives birth, isn't ready, then leaves her baby to die; or one of the ones where the mom "didn't know she was pregnant" and gives birth to a baby who's stillborn.

Which is actually really sad that that's the first place I go to.

Unfortunately, it seems like more often than not, these are the outcomes of gut-wrenching situations like this. I'd be willing to bet that every single one of us has heard at least one story this year of a mother leaving her newborn child or woman not knowing she was pregnant. Hell, there's an entire television series dedicated to it!

It's sad. And this Carnival situation seems fishy. I have no idea what went on on that ship, but clearly this wasn't a mere accident. And the really frightening thing is -- a cruise ship is the perfect place to commit a crime. Unlike airplanes with their Federal Marshals, cruise ships have no police authorities on board. Tons of crimes are committed aboard ships every year -- without going reported. Perhaps -- if this isn't an accident -- that's what he or she thought would happen in this scenario: It would go unreported. Thankfully, Carnival did what's right and is cooperating.

Whatever the outcome, whatever the reasons behind this, bottom line is a tiny, little baby was left for dead. And nothing will ever be able to fix that.

How tragic is this?

Image via Jemingway/Flickr

About the author Nicole Fabian-Weber

has the world's most gorgeous dog. It's a fact.

Filed Under: crime

Comments (9)

xavierlogan09

on Oct 17, 2011 at 8:40 PM

How sad. That baby never had a chance. My guess is the mother had something to do with the death of her child. Why would she leave her dead child? How sick.

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Facebook comment from Terra Del Maro

on Oct 17, 2011 at 8:51 PM

How absolutly terrible. I'm not a mother, but I have a niece and nephew who I adore, and I could never imagine a situation where I would abandon them or allow such a think to happen

Nonmember comment from cyndi

on Oct 22, 2011 at 11:27 PM

This makes me so mad! People like this should get the death sentence like the cereal killers in prisson.

Nonmember comment from Sara

on Nov 4, 2011 at 11:00 AM

Yes, I have to agree with Cyndi. Murderers of delicious breakfast foods should be condemned to die! ;)

Facebook comment from Michael Ray Overby

on Feb 11, 2012 at 12:09 AM

Sara & Cyndi. Funny. It's Infanticide.

twilightsbella

on Feb 13, 2012 at 11:02 PM

she had something to do with the death of her baby. no mother would leave a newborn baby alone like that i hope they put charges against her

autodidact

on Feb 21, 2012 at 8:32 PM

Cereal killers? LMAO

Boddah266

on Feb 22, 2012 at 4:19 AM

Err, not to play Devil's Advocate here but what if the baby died of SIDs, had a heart defect go unnoticed in ultrasounds and died after it's birth -- or any number of other things that may have happened without the "mother definitely being involved"..?
Have the women on this website really lost all faith in their sisters that they immediately judge without a single fact about the situation?

Concerned101

on Feb 22, 2012 at 8:09 AM

Maybe the child died of natural causes and the mother panicked. Was the child cleaned and dressed, as if it had been born before the mother boarded the ship and then died while on board the ship? On the other hand, was the child born on the ship? Was there a doctor on board the ship? Perhaps cruise lines should have regulations about accepting pregnant women and infants as passengers. A baby could catch any number of diseases on a ship or in a foreign port where health regulations and sanitary conditions may not be good. This report is sketchy, and readers need far more information to understand what really happened in this case.