Abandoned baby in NYC rescued with umbilical cord still attached

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A newborn baby was found by bystanders in the Chelsea area of Manhattan early on Thursday with his umbilical cord still attached.

Bystanders, including a group of EMTs, rushed to help the baby after he was abandoned outside an apartment building.

The mother, Ayatta Swann, 37, was charged with abandonment of a child, according to the NYPD.

At around 3.15am local time, a doorman walked outside the luxury apartment building where he works and heard cries from the baby, police said.

Ronald Robertson, who said he sleeps under the High Line, told NBC New York he heard the baby crying and told the doorman.

“I couldn’t believe it, I thought I was seeing things,” Robertson said.

The unnamed baby boy was lying in the street naked and wrapped in a blanket, according to police, who noted the baby was conscious and alert.

The doorman ran across the street to knock on the window of an ambulance where EMTs Mia Chin and Patrick Feimer, were finishing up their shift.

“It was a fresh delivery, so it probably happened moments before," Chin said during a press conference.

Chin said she and her partner ran to get the newborn and bring him inside the station, according to a Facebook post by the New York City Fire Department.

"We just fell back on our training," Chin said during the press conference, “We relied on what the fire department has taught us time and time again. When I approached the infant it was crying and cooing and waving, and I was just so happy that the child was alive, was well, didn’t have any obvious injuries.”

The post said that paramedics Jack Kaddah and Dennison Rougier transported the baby to the hospital, and confirmed that the newborn is currently in stable condition.

Swann was identified as the mother after she checked herself into the same hospital the baby was taken to.

She was arrested and charged by the NYPD at 1.30pm on Thursday.

New York has a safe haven law, which allows babies up to 30 days of age to be left in a safe location.

A parent is not guilty of a crime if the infant is left in a suitable location and notifies an appropriate person.

Suitable locations include hospitals and staffed police or fire stations.

New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh pointed to the law in the press conference and noted, "You can bring [newborns] to the station or the firehouse or police precinct and knock on the door and not be asked any additional questions."

The NYPD were contacted by The Independent and provided no further comment.