The sound of crying alerted residents to a newborn left in this alley off Saratoga Street in East Boston. The incident has prompted officials to draw attention to the Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers to turn over newborns to the state.
(John Tlumacki/ Globe Staff)
Newborn found in alley in E. Boston
Neighbors praised for boy’s rescue
The sound of crying alerted residents to a newborn left in this alley off Saratoga Street in East Boston. The incident has prompted officials to draw attention to the Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers to turn over newborns to the state.
(John Tlumacki/ Globe Staff)
Her evening walks to the corner convenience store were part of the routine of Saratoga Street, but neighbors said they began to notice something slightly different in the teenager’s appearance in recent months.
“If you saw her for the first time, you wouldn’t know that she was pregnant because her stomach wasn’t out that far,’’ said resident Maria Pecora. “But I could tell . . . that she was carrying. She wore clothing that concealed her pregnancy.’’
Boston police said yesterday that the 18-year-old, whose name was withheld, gave birth to a boy sometime Monday night and abandoned the newborn in a narrow alley next to her building on Saratoga Street. A first-floor resident told authorities he heard cries about 10:20 p.m., looked out his window, and saw a naked baby lying in the alley with its umbilical cord attached. Temperatures dipped to the low 50s overnight.
A resident retrieved the baby and called police. When authorities arrived, they began to ask residents whether they knew of anyone in the area who was pregnant. Neighbor Jessica Ventura said she later remembered the young woman living on the second floor.
“I called the police, and I told them I just remembered there’s a girl that lives there and is pregnant,’’ Ventura said yesterday. An ambulance arrived about 90 minutes later, and the woman emerged from the house wrapped in a white blanket with her mother at her side.
The woman and the baby were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital. The Department of Children and Families took custody of the baby yesterday.
A Boston police spokeswoman, Elaine Driscoll, said: “She was in clear need of medical attention. The mother and her baby are receiving treatment at the hospital, and both are believed to be OK, thanks to vigilant community members who were willing to get involved and acted quickly.’’
Driscoll said it is not clear whether the mother will face charges.
In October 2004, the state passed the Safe Haven Law, which allows mothers to leave their newborns, up to 7 days old, at designated sites such as fire or police stations or a hospital without the threat of prosecution. Since the law was enacted, 14 babies have been surrendered, said Renee Marcou, a spokeswoman for Baby Safe Haven New England.
A fire station sits on Saratoga Street, about a half block from the alley where the baby was found.
State Representative Carlo Basile said yesterday during a news conference in front of the fire station that the “mother could have come here and dropped the baby off, and that baby could have been transferred to the hospital and DCF would have taken control.’’
“We want to get the word out that there should be no reason for this to ever take place, that the mothers don’t have to be afraid,’’ he said. “There are laws in place to protect the children and the mother.’’
Alicha Ditomaso, who lives in the neighborhood and is the mother of a 9-month-old girl, had strong feelings yesterday about the incident.
“I can’t imagine how anyone could leave a baby on the street,’’ she said. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.’’
Brian Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.
