An Italian baby was removed from his parents after doctors were shocked at his poor state of health and a body weight only just slightly higher than a newborn. Photo / iStock
A 14-month-old Italian baby, who was reportedly fed a vegan diet, has been removed from his parents after arriving at a Milan hospital seriously malnourished.
The baby, whose name has not been released, was taken to hospital by his grandparents a week ago and doctors were shocked to see the
poor state of the baby's health and a body weight only just slightly higher than a newborn.
Blood tests revealed the child, who was born in May 2015, was severely malnourished with calcium levels barely adequate to survive. The baby was also suffering from a congenital heart condition which required emergency surgery. He is now recovering in hospital.
"This forces us to reflect on uncommon feeding regimes, even if in this case it was complicated by a cardiac malformation," said Luca Bernardo, director of paediatrics at the hospital that took him in.
"It is not a problem to choose different or unusual kinds of nutrition and we certainly do not want to enter into a discussion of the merits of the decision. But since birth, the baby should have had support in this case with calcium and iron."
