Woman Says She Found Dead Newborn on Her Porch | “The Entire Placenta Was Still Connected”

A woman discovered a dead baby on her Tennessee porch and now police are looking for the mother. The woman happened to be a critical care nurse and told police that at first, she thought there was a package on her porch. When she took a closer look, she realized it was a baby. The woman who wished to remain anonymous found the boy naked and not breathing. “The entire placenta was still connected,” she said according to WREG. “I had some gloves in my car and checked his pulse, but he was already gone.”

The woman said she never heard a knock on her door and that she didn’t know why the baby was left at her house. “I was shocked. I was really frozen in place because you just don’t expect to see that on your front door,” she said. “I hope she got some care she needed if she’s having some mental trauma,” she continued. “I hope she can get help for that too.” The unnamed woman’s house is near a few schools in the area. Neighbors shared that officials have been questioning teens at these schools to see if they can find the child’s mother.

A Southaven Police Department (SPD) spokesperson said in a March 28 Facebook post they were concerned for the child's mother, as per Newsweek. The spokesperson shared, "This is an ongoing investigation and we ask that the families impacted by this are allowed to have their privacy during this difficult time. We are also asking that if anyone has information on the mother to please come forward. We are concerned for her health and well-being. We are asking for the help of the public to help identify this mother and infant. Together, we can move forward and provide the necessary resources for this mother and family."

In most states, parents can surrender their newborn to a "safe haven" baby box location. In a viral TikTok, Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelsey demonstrated how the boxes work and how a parent can drop a baby off using a baby box. "If a parent walks up to one of our Safe Haven baby boxes, and they need to utilize this resource that we've made available to them, all they have to do is walk up to the baby box, open the door, take the orange bag, place their newborn inside, shut the door, and walk away," she said. The mission of Safe Haven Baby Boxes is to prevent illegal abandonment of newborns and provide support for mothers in crisis.  

If anyone has information about the identity of the mother or information concerning this matter, please call SPD at 662-393-8652 or email tips@southaven.org.

References:

https://www.newsweek.com/tennessee-dead-baby-abandoned-porch-1693672

https://wreg.com/news/local/woman-says-baby-found-on-her-porch-abandoned-not-long-after-birth/

https://www.tiktok.com/@safehavenbabyboxes/video/7077716823323462954

Representational Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Brittany Schauer Photography