It's the best ending possible for baby left at fire hall

Carlton ambulance director Erik Bergstedt sure is happy he was working at the Carlton fire hall on Sept. 29.

That's the day a woman walked in carrying an infant in a blanket. She told Bergstedt the baby was three days old, that he was born at home and she delivered him on her own. She did not want Bergstedt to call the police or any other EMTs, she just wanted to leave the baby with him. After she left, he called for assistance.

Although unusual, the situation worked exactly as it was supposed to, according to Minnesota's Safe Place for Newborns law, which provides an anonymous alternative for mothers to safely give up their newborns.

"I knew about (the law) but it's something you never expect to happen," Bergstedt said. "I was very surprised. I'm very glad I was here, or that someone was here, anyone would have done the right thing."

According to the Safe Place law, mothers, or someone with their permission, may leave unharmed newborns (no more than seven days old) at a hospital or health care facility, fire hall or ambulance station, or with ambulance staff dispatched by a 911 call. The baby must be handed off to a staff member, not dropped off and left alone. Bergstedt said Carlton always has a person on ambulance duty but the ambulance isn't always at the fire hall, so the timing was good.

The baby's mother physically handed over the child, answered a few questions, and departed, leaving behind some supplies and a note stating that the boy's name was Alex Gregory Doe, born Sept. 26.

The law states that medical staff will give shelter, health care and aid to a newborn. The staff at a Safe Place must not ask for the identity of the mother or the person leaving the newborn, or call the police, provided the newborn is unharmed. They can ask the person about the medical history of the mother or newborn, but that information is not required.

The purpose and mission of the Safe Place for Newborns law is to save the lives of newborns in danger of abandonment and to help preserve the health and future of mothers.

It's not a common occurrence, but it happens, and it's a far better alternative to a newborn ending up on the front steps of a church, or worse, in the trash - acts that inspired the law that has spread to states across the country. According to the nonprofit National Safe Haven Alliance website, since the Safe Haven laws were first passed by states around the country between 11 and 21 years ago, a total of 4,124 babies have been surrendered. It's the first time current and former fire chiefs in the Carlton or Cloquet fire and ambulance services remember something like this happening, at least in the past 20 to 30 years.

Once the baby is left at a Safe Place, staff are required to call an ambulance to transport the child to a hospital. The hospital must provide any needed care for the baby, and then inform the responsible social service agency, in this case Carlton County Public Health and Human Services.

At that point the baby goes into foster care, and - after parental rights are terminated - can be adopted. The state is not obligated to look for the child's parents or relatives under the terms of the law. The agency will select families who have been licensed for child foster care and approved for adoption, based on the newborn's best interests.

If the newborn appears to be of American Indian descent, agencies are directed to contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services so the child can be placed with a culturally appropriate family.

Safe and sound

The baby boy - known officially as Baby Boy Doe or Baby Boy in court proceedings - is doing well. He's in foster care, and his foster parents would like to adopt him as soon as possible.

Carlton County Public Health and Human Services social worker Madison Peterson and guardian ad litem Timothy Dipuma testified before Judge Rebekka Stumme during a Nov. 17 online hearing to terminate parental rights.

According to medical records cited in the court documents, the baby was "well developed and well nourished, no apparent distress" when it was brought to Community Memorial Hospital that day. The infant tested positive for amphetamine and methamphetamine but other tests and a brain scan showed all other functions were normal.

Dipuma reported that it's been at least a couple weeks since the foster parents have seen any tremors (a symptom of neonatal abstinence syndrome, which can last up to six months). He also had a minor medical procedure to correct being "tongue tied" - a condition in which an unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth - which required a minor medical procedure which was successful.

Dipuma said that when the baby hears his foster mother's voice, he wants to be held and fed. He has a big sister there, who loves being a "little mommy" with the baby. "They are already reporting that the child is recognizing their voices and seems like there's already a bond starting to form," Dipuma told the judge.

The hearing had been advertised in the Pine Knot News legal notices in October, even though it isn't required. No family members appeared for the hearing, nor had any contacted the county before then. Until the adoption is finalized, the mother could still ask to have the baby back in her care; that would also trigger a child maltreatment investigation, though using the Safe Place act cannot be the basis of determining maltreatment.

Stumme granted the petition to terminate parental rights.

"I just want to say that it's very heartening to see that we've already got Baby Boy Doe ... a good place to live and a family that's ready to care for him and assume him into their family," Stumme said. "[It's] one of those sad situations that can turn out to be positive."

The judge set a review hearing for 90 days, with hopes that there will be progress on the adoption by that point.

For his part, Bergstedt said he's thought of the infant numerous times since he took him to the hospital almost two months ago. He was happy to know the baby is doing well.

"I've thought about it, and wondered how he's doing," Bergstedt said. "It's always nice in my line of work - because we don't often get updates - to know things work out. And that was such a unique situation. I'm glad he's doing well."

Find out more about the Minnesota Safe Place law at safeplacemn.org. The National Safe Haven Alliance has a 24/7 crisis hotline: call 1-888-510-BABY or text SAFEHAVEN to 313131​ or find the website at nationalsafehavenalliance.org.