The family of a woman who gave birth while in a decade-long coma have accused the hospital she was in of neglect.
The woman, who is in a vegetative state, went into labour and gave birth to a baby boy last month at Hacienda Healthcare in Phoenix, Arizona.
She was injured in a drowning incident over ten years ago and has been in a coma since.
Police suspect that the woman was sexually assaulted at the private healthcare facility and have launched a full investigation.
A lawyer for the woman’s relatives has confirmed that they are now caring for the infant.
“The family obviously is outraged, traumatised and in shock by the abuse and neglect of their daughter at Hacienda Healthcare,” attorney John Michaels said.
“The family would like me to convey that the baby boy has been born into a loving family and will be well cared for.”
The birth came as a shock to staff at the hospital, who were not aware that the woman, 29, was pregnant.
They were initially surprised when she began moaning during the beginning of her labour, according to Reuters.
Police have said that the woman nearly died in childbirth but managed to deliver the child naturally.
“This was a helpless victim who was sexually assaulted,” Sergeant Tommy Thompson told the press.
Authorities have begun taking DNA samples from staff at the hospital to try and identify the woman’s attacker.
Hacienda describes itself as Arizona’s “leading provider of specialised health care services for medically fragile and chronically ill infants, children, teens, and young adults as well as those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
