A woman from Oregon gave birth on a sidewalk and abandoned the baby before walking away covered in blood and amniotic fluid, according to the police.
Portland police arrived at Southwest 13th Avenue and Market Street just around 11 a.m. on Wednesday after receiving reports of an unidentified woman that had given birth on the sidewalk.
Police thanked the community for covering the baby and calling 911.https://t.co/fsJSmi2Vlq
— KOIN News (@KOINNews) March 10, 2022
“It’s a cold day, it wasn’t raining at that moment, but it was raining earlier and the sidewalk at Southwest 13th and Market is no place to deliver a baby alone,” Officer Kirby-Glatkowski told reporters when they got the alarming call.
Kirby-Glatkowsk added that the mother was covered with blood and amniotic fluid when they found her.
The mother appeared to be undergoing a mental health episode and was being uncooperative with authorities.
“She was evaluated and placed on a police officer hold to get a mental health evaluation. She and her baby, a girl, were transported to the hospital by ambulance,” said the Portland Police Bureau in a statement.
Luckily, Kirby-Glatkowski and his partner are on the department’s Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team, which is trained to work with people in mental crisis.
“My partner and I went to try and engage her, contact her, talk to her, see what was going on,” he said. “We were able, with some additional resources on scene, [to] get her stopped at about 12th and Market and get her into an ambulance and into a hospital for physical assessment and also address other issues.”
The police said that they are still working to find out how the woman ended up giving birth by herself on the sidewalk, but she was ultimately found to be in good physical health, according to Kirby-Glatkowski.
They also added that the bureau’s Behavioral Health Unit has been in touch with her prior to the accident, first responders told reporters.
“I can’t believe, frankly, that that happened, and I’m glad we had as safe of a resolution as possible today,” Kirby-Glatkowski said.
In an Instagram post, a police bike squad thanked community members who immediately covered up the baby and called the authorities.
