Safe Haven Law: Baby Turned Over To LAFD On Christmas

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles firefighters received an unusual Christmas delivery at a downtown station this year – a baby.

With a small bundle in her arms, a woman went to a station near the city's Exposition Park on Friday afternoon, telling firefighters she wanted to give the child up for adoption, fire spokesman Erik Scott said in a statement Saturday.

The woman, 27, said her daughter was born six hours earlier, Scott said.

"She was still a little red, so she was fairly new. Well-nourished, well-cared for," fire Capt. Scott Hilton said. "She was awake. She was crying a little bit and moving around."

Clean and wrapped in a blanket, the girl was carried inside the station by firefighters, who nicknamed her Noel, in honor of Christmas. The mother said she had recently fed the child.

A nearly decade-old Safe Haven Law in California allows parents to give up babies up to three days old at fire stations, hospitals and other locations without fear of prosecution if there are no signs of abuse.

Hilton said delivery of a child to firefighters is a rare occurrence and it is far better than the alternative that some frantic mothers have taken of simply abandoning a child.

"The praise goes to the mother for making the right decision," Hilton said. "Compared to the alternative, it's a great ending."

The woman was cooperative as firefighters went through procedures for taking the baby, Hilton said. She didn't provide a reason for wanting to give up the child but did say she had three other children, he added. She hadn't named the child.

Firefighters gave the mother paperwork to mail in to provide the child's medical history. They also provided a numbered ankle bracelet for the baby and another identifying bracelet to the mother, who by law has 14 days to reclaim her daughter, Hilton said.

The newborn was taken to a hospital where she remained early Christmas Day.

"Our last report was that the infant was very healthy," Scott said.

When she is released, the newborn will be placed with Los Angeles County child welfare officials. She could be put in foster care and made available for adoption.

She was the sixth child surrendered in the county in 2010 and the 82nd since the Safely Surrendered Baby Law was passed nine years ago, according to county statistics.

Comments

[R Davis]

09:41 PM on 12/28/2010

You gotta wonder if it would have happen if we didn't have 23% of the nations wealth in the hands of 1% of the population?

[Aldyth]

10:16 AM on 12/28/2010

God bless that mother for giving up a child that she didn't feel she could care for. May her child find a home with a family that wants her and will give her the love and care she needs.

I hope that others will learn from this generous mother's example so that never again will an infant be disposed of in a dumpster. There are families desperate for children who want them dearly.

[mitzvah]

12:59 AM on 12/28/2010

An example of the ultimate display of selfless love. My heart breaks for the mother whose reality prompted the decision that it was in her newborn's best interest to be turned over her newborn to the LAFD. It is a wonderful thing that a woman in this situation can rally up the strength - in the name of pure maternal love - and have the ability to do her best to ensure that her child will have a better chance than what she assesses she can provide. I pray that she will always be at peace with this decision and that someday - if it serves both her and her daughter well - they can be reunited in the same power of love that was expressed this Christmas Eve.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

10:36 PM on 12/27/2010

It's a good law.
 
It saves babies from just being dumped.

[makemesmile]

03:20 PM on 12/28/2010

It's a great law and more mothers should use it instead of abandoning their babies. What a wonderful action for this mother to take for her daughter. God bless her.

[Tuigim]

03:23 PM on 12/28/2010

It is good the baby is alive.
It is a tragic and very painful story that shows how we as a society failed this mother.
Many don't care about the poor and seem to believe the rich can take care of their babies better.
I'm glad the baby is alive and well but this is tragic.
Aim higher.
Recognize the awful crime of allowing people to reach that state of desperation.
We fund wars but neglect the vulnerable at home.
She can't afford it - the right decision? What about a caring society that caters to the needs of this mother rather than blowing people apart in other lands.
It's a war on the poor even as they are made poor by government abuse of their taxes.
Very, very sad and shameful.

[danielei]

10:34 PM on 12/27/2010

She might have been the best mother for that child. I feel so bad for the both of them.

We don't value women or children or childbearing.

[Tuigim]

03:25 PM on 12/28/2010

"She might have been the best mother for that child."
Thank you. Probably true.
Nature's bond is strong and the separation of a mother and a newborn goes against nature.
What a shame she felt herself to be in such dire circumstances and how sad so few here think we can help her.

[Tuigim]

03:33 PM on 12/28/2010

F&F

[himaui]

10:14 PM on 12/27/2010

can you imagine how EXCITED a potential adoptive family is right now? and during christmas no less? gives me shivers! i know adoption process is hard, especially for a baby! and this little noel will never ever be forgotten by the FD, they love her already. and the adoptive family (assuming), i wonder if they will be reunited with the FD? i'm sure the FD would love to know how little noel progresses along.what a wonderful christmas story i hope, in the end.

noel is already a rockstar and christmas miracle to 1000s already;if she stayed home w/her mom and siblings, although loved...she would never summon this degree of love, hope, and prayers on her behalf. that's powerful stuff during such a sacred time of year for so many.

good for you, little noel. loving your new family already - no matter if temporary or permanent. you are so very loved!

[Tuigim]

03:26 PM on 12/28/2010

Have you forgotten the plight and suffering of the mother already?
"if she stayed home w/her mom and siblings, although loved...sh­e would never summon this degree of love, hope, and prayers on her behalf"
Our love is better and stronger than her own mother's love?
I beg to differ.

[himaui]

09:14 PM on 12/28/2010

tuigim,

i am a mom to two young children, and i cannot even conceive of the agony and courage this mom has. i don't think i would be able to rise to the occasion as she did; but if i had to do this, i would wish for the best of the best of the world to help my baby. as such, i'm milking her wish, looking for the silver lining hoping goodness will follow in its wake. shining a spotlight of love, no matter the outcome. all of them deserve tremendous good, no room for condemnation. that's what gives baby noel the best outcome.

this isn't about my love is better than your love or their love type of thing, it's just bridging all of the love that is there. and there's a lot of love out there with baby noel's name on it. that's what i'm celebrating.i mean, if that mom is out there reading this thread, i hope she feels more encouraged and realizes people are advocating for her well being, too. she's going thru postpartum and i bet there will not be one day the rest of her life where she may doubt her choice.

[rodeman]

09:02 PM on 12/27/2010

Finally someone does the right thing. Hats off to the mother.

[Tuigim]

03:27 PM on 12/28/2010

Hats on the floor in disgust at the neglect that forced her to make this decision.
What kind of a society is this?!

[planetjeffy]

08:20 PM on 12/27/2010

kudos to LA - wish it was used more
and birth control was more readily available (over the counter) and free

[VeggieLove]

03:38 PM on 12/27/2010

A truly brave woman. I imagine the decision was very difficult, but yet she did what was best for the child. Very admirable.

[Larry Braxton]

03:15 PM on 12/27/2010

Good for her. Add her and the child to your prayer this evening.

[Tuigim]

06:18 PM on 12/27/2010

I know what you mean but how was it good for her?
Chances are it was gut wrenching,
it was agonizing,
it was a lot of things but I'm pretty sure it did not feel 'good.'
I'm glad the baby is alive but how by any stretch of the imagination can this feel good from the point of view of a mother who now has no idea what is going to happen to her baby?

[Tartfuel]

06:30 PM on 12/27/2010

You obviously have a very emotional and knee-jerl reaction to what this woman did for her child. So much so that you twist other's words to mean something different than intended so you can attack it.

Enough.

[crazyquiltmom]

12:36 PM on 12/27/2010

The article states that the mother has 3 other children; this infant makes the 4th. The mother deserves a lot of credit for making what had to be a difficult choice. We don't know her financial circumstances, but perhaps she realized she could not properly provide for this child & perhaps she wanted a better life for it.

Too often, women & young girls unprepared for the lifelong commitment that is motherhood harm their babies which is what safe harbor legislation tries to combat. I repeat this mother deserves a lot of credit & compassion.

[Tuigim]

06:20 PM on 12/27/2010

Too often this society (or at least the government's priority) values material possessions and funding warfare abroad more than caring for the vulnerable at home.

[no exit]

10:04 AM on 12/27/2010

This young mother has courage - this had to be a very difficult decision for her, heart wrenching. I wish her well.

[Tuigim]

09:55 AM on 12/27/2010

Can we get info as to how to help this mother get reunited with her baby?
Can we help her this Christmas?

[Tartfuel]

12:41 PM on 12/27/2010

If she wants to be reunited with the child she has all the information and items to do so. Don't try to force her into something she may not be able to handle. She did the right thing. The child will, after the waiting period, be adopted out right away. Newborns always are.

[makemesmile]

03:23 PM on 12/28/2010

Let's pray that the child is adopted by good people. All adoptive parents aren't good people!!

[DRaymond]

01:08 PM on 12/27/2010

The mother made a difficult choice.  It is not up to us to make her feel like it was the wrong choice by making efforts to push them back together, particularly since it is unlikely that any efforts would last for the full childhood for the baby.
 
Healthy infants usually have no problem being adopted into good homes, and the system is set up so that if the daughter wants to find her biological mother later she can.

[Jaxy]

12:11 AM on 12/27/2010

Bravo to the mother for relinquishing the baby safely ... but what about the fathers in these situations? I wonder if the legislators think that granting the fathers the right to intervene, might dissuade the mothers from dropping off children under this humane law.

[wdw505]

01:11 AM on 12/27/2010

agreed

[foothills]

10:42 PM on 12/27/2010

The father has the right to step forward during the relinquishment procedure.

[Robert in SF]

11:18 PM on 12/27/2010

You are assuming that the father knows he has a kid, and that he knows that the mother has decided to give the child away. There is absolutely nothing in the story that says anything about the father and his rights in this case.

[Indigo River]

11:09 PM on 12/26/2010

What an incredibly brave mother. The fact that she stands up just 6 hours after delivery to go to a fire station to make such a difficult decision.

This policy is a great success.

[Tuigim]

09:25 AM on 12/27/2010

A better policy might be spending money at home on those who bring new life into the world and want to care for it rather than spending it abroad on destroying lives.
We deserve a better America. We can raise the bar higher than being happy someone had to relinquish her child.

[cyoohoos]

10:43 AM on 12/27/2010

Nope. It is too easy to bring life into the world. I say spend more money on adoption. Stop the cycle.

[Tartfuel]

12:44 PM on 12/27/2010

No one is happy she had to relinquish her child - and you don't know her reasons for doing so. People are applauding the woman's clear thinking to give the child to a Safe Haven right away where she will be safe and well cared for and the mother still has two weeks to decide if she can take care of the child after all.

What she did was a very loving thing.