Police in Jersey City have arrested an 18-year-old woman and accused her of abandoning her newborn baby in an apartment house Monday.
Police say the baby was about an hour old when a woman, who lives at the Cambridge Avenue apartment, discovered it. The baby, who was born prematurely, was brought to the Jersey City Medical Center. The child is now doing fine and will be handed over to the Division of Youth and Family Services.
After the baby was found, police sent out a bulletin to all hospitals in the tri-state area to be on the alert for a woman who had just given birth but had no baby with her. Police say a nurse at Christ Hospital called the police department after a girl arrived and told the staff that she had dropped her baby off at a nearby precinct.Officials say if this were true the mother would not be facing charges. New Jersey law lets parents drop their children off at any police station without penalty. Doctors say the mother remains hospitalized at Christ Hospital.