The death of any baby is a tragedy.
It is always sad when a life is cut short because one never knows what that person might have gone on to achieve.
In a sense it is a wasted life.
It is even worse when the baby dies in circumstances that require police investigation.
Police in Hawke's Bay areinvestigating the deaths of two babies in Hastings anda third case in which a Waipukurau baby was left fighting for his life.
A 2-month-old girl died in Flaxmere on October 21 and on November 5, an 8-month-old girl died in Hastings. Police are also investigating how a 5-week-old baby boy from Waipukurau received multiple injuries, including a serious head injury and multiple fractures.
Not much is known about the deaths and the injuries at this stage and one doesn't want to prejudge the cases.
Babies deserve our love and protection. They have not done anything wrong and it is up to the adults in their lives to protect and nurture them.
One can only hope that the police will be able to establish what happened as soon as possible and that the families and neighbours in all three cases will fully co-operate and help police in their investigations.
The important thing is that there is a resolution to these cases as the past is full of cases where the deaths of babies and toddlers remain unexplained.
They deserve better.
There were small gatherings around the district to commemorate the day.