Baby abandoned in Blacktown backyard to be returned to mum

Authorities say a mum’s reason for abandoning a newborn in a Sydney yard earlier this year is why they won’t block her from reclaiming the child. This is her story.

The mother of a baby found in a Blacktown backyard is expected to be reunited with her daughter in a matter of weeks.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal the NSW Department of Justice and Communities will not oppose the reunion and is set to withdraw its interim application for the baby to be made a ward of the state.

Sources close to the case have confirmed they believe the 35-year-old mother never intended for the baby to be abandoned — instead she was counting on occupants of the house, who were known to her, to take care of her child.

She believed the baby would be seen as “a gift”.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal the woman, who had not long been in Australia, was terrified she would be deported should her pregnancy be revealed, and hid her baby bump from the occupants of the home.

People had begun to notice the physical changes, but the woman consistently denied she was pregnant, fearing she would be stripped of her working visa and sent back to Asia.

Sources close to the case said that on April 21 the woman started to feel contractions and went out onto the back patio where she delivered the baby.

Anne Karlos, with her daughter Skye, had to tie off the umbilical cord of the baby left in her Blacktown backyard. Picture Newscorp Daily Telegraph / Gaye Gerard

Sergeant Dave McInerney at a press conference appealing for the mother to come forward, in April. Picture: Julian Andrews

“She left it on the porch knowing the family would find it and snuck back inside, she was in a state of fear,” a source said.

“This woman genuinely feared she would automatically be sent home and that was never going to be the case.

“We believe the woman has a partner and children in Asia and she was working to provide them all a better life and hopefully have them come here to be with her.”

It is understood the woman thought the family would care for the baby and she could continue to work to send money back to her family.

The occupant of the house however called police and ambulance officers.

At that point the new mum panicked.

Several weeks later the mum, unbeknown to the family, handed herself into police, telling them what had happened.

She was given time to tell the occupants of the home what had happened as police awaited the results of DNA testing which ultimately confirmed she was telling the truth.

In Parramatta Children’s Court on Friday, the Communities and Justice Department sought an adjournment so the mother could undergo physical and psychological testing.

As with most wards of the state, however, the baby girl is understood to have her own independent legal representative, who may or not be supportive of an early reunion.

The case will return to court at a later date.

In the days after the baby girl’s discovery on a Friday afternoon, Anne Carlos recounted the distressing moment her sister Lara heard faint cries and discovered an hours-old baby, unclothed and still covered in fluids, on an outdoor chair.

Ms Carlos revealed how paramedics instructed her over the phone how to tie off the umbilical cord and she then cuddled the baby until paramedics and police arrived.