A Spanish woman accused of murdering her baby was released last week after judges found that she was suffering from a mental disorder known as ‘pregnancy denial’.
The 28-year-old woman, known as Alba, did not know she was pregnant 22 November 2012, when she complained of severe stomach pains. She and her boyfriend called for an ambulance 23 times, but none arrived, despite the pair living 300 metres from the A&E ward of a local hospital, according to El Pais.
Alba’s boyfriend went to investigate why no ambulance arrived, and in her confusion Alba thought the the baby’s head beginning to crest was a “tumour” like that recently suffered by one of her friends. She then proceeded to try and remove the “alien body” with a nail file and only realised that it was a baby once the injured child fell onto her bed.
When her boyfriend returned with the paramedics, they found the baby girl in a pool of blood but still breathing. However, despite the best efforts of the paramedics, the baby soon died of a punctured lung..
Police did not believed Alba’s story that she was unaware of her pregnancy and arrested her on suspicion of infanticide.
However, a court in Valencia heard that Alba suffered from a rare “quasi-schizophrenic” mental illness where the sufferer cannot comprehend that she is pregnant and when the baby arrives she cannot accept the reality of the situation.
Upon hearing Alba’s diagnosis, the prosecution dropped the murder charges and she was instead found guilty of involuntary manslaughter due to diminished mental capacity.
