An Oregon woman gave birth on a sidewalk and walked away from the baby covered in blood and amniotic fluid during an apparent mental health crisis, according to a report.
Portland police responded to a report that a woman had given birth on Wednesday around 11 am on a sidewalk near Southwest 13th and Market streets and then abandoned the child, KOIN reported.
Officer Kirby-Glatkowski and his partner, who were not far from the area, showed up soon after they received the alarming call, the TV station reported.
“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,” Kirby-Glatkowski told the outlet.
Paramedics “said the mother, was stumbling away eastbound on Market with a lot of blood and amniotic fluid all over her,” he said.
Portland Police Bureau said they found the mother nearby, and she is being held for a mental health evaluation.
“The mother and her baby, a girl, were transported to the hospital by ambulance,” police said.
Kirby-Glatkowski and his partner are 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. We were able, with some additional resources on scene, 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,” he told KOIN.
Police officers thanked community members in an Instagram post:
Central Bike Squad rode there to assist other officers. A bike officer went and checked on the baby, a newborn girl, being cared for by AMR paramedics. The mother was not cooperative with police or medical and was taken to hospital on a mental health evaluation. The newborn was transported by ambulance to a local children’s hospital. Thank you to the community members who saw this take place, immediately covered up the baby, and called 911.
