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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Newborn Returned To Teen Mom Infant Was Presumed Dead When Discovered In A Toilet

Seattle Times

A newborn baby, presumed at first to be dead when discovered in a toilet, will soon be reunited with her 16-year-old mother and grandparents, authorities said.

Meanwhile, a doctor suggested Monday that the infant’s “diving reflex” may have saved her life.

After spending two days reviewing the case, Child Protective Services decided yesterday to release the baby to her teenage mother, who lives with her parents in Burien.

“Based upon our investigation, we feel the family can adequately take care of the infant, and the baby is not in any danger by going home,” said Bob Doupe, CPS area manager. He declined to elaborate.

The family apparently was unaware of the teen’s pregnancy, officials said.

An ambulance crew taking the infant’s young mother to Highline Community Hospital after an apparent miscarriage on June 6 was stunned to see movement in a medical-waste bag that held the newborn, presumed dead. The baby was rushed into the hospital’s emergency room and treated, then moved to Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Seattle.

The infant may be released from the hospital as early as Tuesday, spokesman Dean Forbes said.

Officials from King County Emergency Medical Services were investigating how emergency medical technicians from the North Highline Fire District mistakenly thought the baby was dead.

“It was a very difficult situation for the firefighters,” said Dr. Stephen Olmstead, medical director of the agency’s South King County operations. “It wasn’t as easy as you might think to (determine) there was a baby in there.”

Olmstead said the infant probably survived in the toilet bowl by going directly from one liquid environment, the womb, to another, the toilet water.

“If you take newborn babies and drop them in water, they will not breathe the water,” he said.