TURKEY: Russian baby born prematurely in tourist town of Antalya, expected to return to Russia later this week

A Russian baby, born two months premature in Turkey, is expected to fly home on Wednesday (September 12). The baby was born after the Russian mother, Yulia Korsakova, travelled to the Turkish resort of Antalia for a holiday. Unable to pay the hospital fees, Korsakova and her partner Aleksey Maryanin returned to Russia. Back in Turkey on Monday (September 10) Korsakova said she had spoken to authorities about her need to travel home without the child. "We could not afford to stay there for a month," she told Reuters. "Until I find the money I will not be able, of course, to take my baby. I came to Russia to seek help to find the necessary amount," she said. The Russian consulate in Antalya contacted the couple's travel agent and insurance company, and after negotiation the agency agreed to pay some of the costs for the new-born. The baby cannot be returned to Russia without specialist medical care, and a charter flight from the Russian Ministry of Emergency is expected to arrive in Antalya on Wednesday. The hospital's general manager, Irfan Erdogan, said the baby still needs intensive care. "He has to be more than a specified weight to be discharged from our new born intensive care unit. He has to develop some reflexes like swallowing and sucking before being discharged. Than he can be discharged," he said. Erdogan says there has been a lot of rumours about what had happened when the baby was born. "The family was informed about the cost when they first arrived at our hospital but than there was no talk of money. No-one asked us to take the baby and bring her back after this, but now there are rumours that they asked for the baby but we refused to give him back. This is totally wrong," he said.

ITN Source | September 11, 2007

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