UPDATED: Police: Woman not arrested for baby found in N. Philly
The mother of a newborn baby found behind a vacant home in North Philadelphia has been taken into custody, police said.
This post has been updated.
The 19-year-old mother of a newborn baby found outside a North Philadelphia home on Sunday will not face charges, police said.
Police initially responded to a report of a baby found on North Bonsall Street near Cambria in North Philadelphia around 5:30 a.m. Sunday. When officers arrived, a woman holding the baby told police her 19-year-old daughter had awakened her and told her she had heard what she believed to be a baby crying outside the house.
Police later interviewed the 19-year-old woman. According to investigators, the woman said she decided to take a bath at about 4:30 a.m. While in the tab, she started to feel pressure and got out of the tub to use the bathroom. While using the bathroom, the woman said she observed blood and realized she had given birth. She picked up the baby, cut the cord, then got a sheet and wrapped the baby in it, and took the baby outside where she laid the baby down. She said she then went into the house, awakened her mother and told her she heard a baby crying outside.
The newborn, a girl weighing six pounds, was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in good condition. The mother is also in stable condition.