A woman from Nebraska was arrested on April 15 for allegedly leaving her newborn baby in a bag and placing it on a stranger's front porch. Maria Piaz-Perez was charged with child abuse and abandonment after she was seen on April 13 leaving her newborn baby in front of an Omaha home. Piaz-Perez was then seen getting into the passenger seat of a car and leaving.
Local news KETV reported that the newborn baby was immediately taken to the hospital and is now in stable condition. Police stated that they managed to identify and apprehend Piaz-Perez after tracking down the car that she used to escape the scene.
Mom abandons newborn baby
According to WOWT, the newborn baby was reportedly left in a plastic duffel bag and was wrapped in a sweater. The plastic duffel bag and the sweater were covered in blood and the umbilical cord was still attached. Vincent Cruz, the homeowner who found the newborn baby on his doorstep, told WOWT that he was not sure it was a baby at first, so he called the police. He was afraid because the package looked suspicious and it was moving.
The police stated that Piaz-Perez initially denied giving birth, but she ultimately suggested she was the mother of the baby. The newborn child is to remain in foster care and the outcome for the April 16 court hearing is still pending.
Similar case
The case of Piaz-Perez is not the first of its kind. In March of 2019, a baby born at a Dayton hospital was tested positive for narcotics. The baby was immediately turned over to state custody after the mother left the facility and did not come back, according to a police report.
Days after, Dayton police responded to a call that Miami Valley Hospital made regarding the baby. Officers met with a Children Services caseworker who needed help transferring custody of a baby boy who was born on February 3, 2019. According to the hospital, the baby boy tested positive for opiates and cocaine when he was born. The boy's mother, a 30-year-old Riverside woman, was discharged from the hospital the day after giving birth.
The medical staff said that the mother left the hospital and did not return. The custody of the boy was transferred to Children Services and the boy was allowed to be discharged from the hospital into foster care.
Ohio has a program that is called Safe Haven, the program allows mothers and fathers to take newborn babies to a hospital emergency room and tell staff that they want to leave them there. The program is aimed at parents, especially mothers, who have hidden their pregnancy or those who have no plans for the baby after giving birth.
The Safe Haven program is created to help parents who can't care for their babies. Parents can drop their babies off and not be required to give a name. The babies left in the program can be up to 30 days old.
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