‘My baby was not like this’: Parents say thermal crib caused newborn’s injuries

When Lizbeth Sacta first held her daughter Luciana after the baby was born on Aug. 19, she saw no blisters or other injuries. The parents say the lesions appeared only after the newborn was placed in a thermal crib at Riobamba’s Provincial General Teaching Hospital.

The family alleges that Luciana remained in the crib for several minutes without medical observation and with the temperature set too high. The injuries reportedly affect about 40% of her face, as well as her hands, feet and heels. Her father, Mike Antamba, recorded the birth and says the video shows that she was born without visible wounds.

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My baby was not like this. I saw my daughter from the very first second, and she did not have a single blister or any kind of injury.

“ My baby was not like this. I saw my daughter from the very first second, and she did not have a single blister or any kind of injury,” Antamba said. He also rejected the Health Ministry’s statement that the child was in good health, saying the condition of her face and arms did not match that description.

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She was born healthy, there are videos, and we will not allow reality to be manipulated in that way.

The ministry said the injuries could be linked to infectious or genetic conditions rather than heat from the thermal crib. The parents and their lawyer, Edwin Daqui, rejected that explanation. “She was born healthy, there are videos, and we will not allow reality to be manipulated in that way,” Daqui said.

On Aug. 31, prosecutors and forensic specialists entered the hospital’s neonatal unit, photographed the crib and checked its condition. Daqui said the family wants investigators to identify the staff members on duty and establish responsibility.

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We cannot cover the sun with one finger. There is a forensic medical report from the Prosecutor’s Office. We need those responsible, those who were on duty, to be brought to light. We want justice.