In a tragic accident in Francavilla Fontana, Brindisi, a four-month-old baby is now in a coma after his powdered milk was mistakenly mixed with wine. The incident occurred when the infant’s grandmother, preparing his milk, confused a wine bottle for the baby’s dark-colored glass water bottle.
The mix-up led to the baby consuming some of the hazardous mixture before refusing to drink more. Upon realizing the mistake after detecting the smell of wine in the bottle, the grandmother rushed her grandson to Perrino Hospital. There, he received urgent medical attention including stomach pumping. He was subsequently intubated and transferred to the Giovanni Pediatric Hospital in Bari, where he remains in the intensive care unit.
Fortunately, local media reports indicate that the baby’s condition is stable and improving, and his life is currently not believed to be in danger. The local authorities, including prosecutors and police, have been notified and are currently reviewing the baby’s medical files to determine whether criminal charges should be pursued in light of the incident, the Daily Record reports.
This case echoes a separate incident from last year, where two women narrowly avoided jail after a video surfaced showing them apparently giving wine to an 18-month-old girl. The video, recorded on January 20, 2020, in Midlothian, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, captured a woman tilting the baby’s head back to drink from a glass bottle.
Although the video suggested that the baby was being fed alcohol, investigations revealed otherwise. The women involved in the Midlothian incident were later tried at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, facing charges related to child protection.
Sheriff Alistair Noble noted that while the original charges were severe, the women ultimately pleaded guilty to lesser charges of threatening and abusive behavior related to the creation of the video. They admitted to causing public distress with the video’s content. Sheriff Noble concluded that imprisonment was not warranted for their offenses, reflecting the complexity and sensitivity required in such legal determinations.