Mother tells of distress of deformed baby's death

JAKARTA (JP): A poor housewife who lives in a tiny hut under the Kota flyover in Penjaringan, North Jakarta, has told the sad story of her one-day old baby boy, who raised neighbors' curiosity due to the strange shape of the top of his head.

Yanti's baby, Pulan, who had a strange growth on the top of his head in the form of a red and white looking cauliflower, was only able to breath for 27 hours.

The infant, she said, died at 6 a.m. on Monday after being born at 3 a.m. the day before.

The 28-year-old mother said Pulan's body turned blue right after his death. The baby was buried on the same day of his death.

"He's my son although his appearance was abnormal. My infant had become a public object ... and this embarrassed me," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday outside the family's small house.

Her husband, Yanto, is a porter at the local fish market.

Yati said the infant was their third. Ganang Sumadi, the couple's second child, died at the age of 10 months. The only child they have with them is Ratih A. Wibowo, a girl.

The woman said Pulan refused breast feeding and honey.

"He preferred plain water," Yati said.

She also expressed her disappointment about an article in a local daily newspaper on Tuesday which reported that her baby looked like an alien with two horns on his head.

According to Yati, her pregnancy for her third baby was normal. She only felt unusual things hours before his birth.

"I suffered pain in my stomach since 6 p.m on Saturday which never happened during my previous pregnancies," she recalled.

Neighbor Djuyatin, 35, said Pulan's birth was slightly rare since the first part of his body released from her mother's womb was his legs, instead of his head. (asa)