I Told Myself I Was Imagining It': Parents Find 'Stillborn' Baby Alive in the Hospital Morgue, Condition Now Critical

The daughter of Analia Bouter was declared dead upon birth in Argentina last week. Complications are common for infants born three months premature.  Later in the day after the birth, the parents requested to visit the hospital morgue where their infant had been kept in a refrigerated coffin to take a photograph. There they found not a still, lifeless body but a cold, crying and very much alive little girl.

The Herald Sun reports Bouter saying she fell to her knees at the sight, considering it a miracle. Now, Luz Milagros, or "Miracle Light," is still in critical condition and the physicians involved in declaring the baby stillborn have been suspended. The Heard Sun has more of the backstory:

Ms. Bouguet told the TeleNoticias TV channel in an interview on Tuesday night that doctors gave her the death certificate just 20 minutes after the baby was born, and that she still hasn't received a birth certificate for her tiny girl.

Ms. Bouguet said the baby was quickly put in a coffin and taken to the morgue's refrigeration room. Twelve hours passed before she and her husband were able to open the coffin to say their last goodbyes.

[...]

"I moved the coverings aside and saw the tiny hand, with all five fingers, and I touched her hand and then uncovered her face,'' she said in the TeleNoticias interview. "That's where I heard a tiny little cry. I told myself I was imagining it -- it was my imagination. And then I stepped back and saw her waking up. It was as if she was saying 'Mama, you came for me!'

Watch the news report:

Neonatology chief Diana Vesco at the Perrando hospital in Resistencia announced Thursday that Luz is in critical condition, suffering from sepsis and other complications related to premature birth.Vesco said the baby is on a ventilator and antibiotics, and has suffered convulsions along with signs of neurological damage.

The Herald Sun reports that the family is prepared to sue the hospital. Bouter said she had four children prior to Luz and found it odd she was given general anesthesia for her labor and that she was denied requests to see her child before she was taken to the morgue. The Daily Telegraph has more from Bouter who is accusing the hospital of negligence:

She said she thought she had broken water days before Luz was born and went to the hospital only for doctors to tell her incorrectly that the liquid was urine.

"They told me to wait," she said. "And then on Monday [April 2], they gave me an ultrasound scan and saw that there was no amniotic fluid around the baby.

"It was complete torture. Doctors had planned a Caesarean section, but when I went into the delivery room, they told me to give birth naturally, as if Luz was already dead. But on the monitor you could see her heart beating.

"After I gave birth, they put me to sleep without telling me what happened."

Fox News reports the hospital is conducting an investigation as to how this error occurred. Rafael Sabatinelli, the deputy health secretary of Chaco Province, said each professional involved holds some responsibility and will have to "pay for this."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.