A newborn baby girl was found to have vital signs in a Toronto hospital more than an hour after staff had declared the infant dead Sunday morning.
Police and paramedics were called to a pathway near York Gate Boulevard and Norfinch Drive in Toronto’s northwest end around 6 a.m.
There, they found a 20-year-old woman who had just given birth to the baby on the pathway. The woman’s mother was at her side, Toronto Police Staff Sgt. Norm Proctor told CTVNews.ca.
Paramedics rushed the baby to nearby Humber River Regional Hospital’s Finch site.
Once at the hospital, the baby was declared dead despite medical staff’s efforts to treat her, Proctor said.
As per protocol, police officers monitored the baby -- who was covered with a sheet -- as they waited for the coroner to arrive so the death could be investigated further, Proctor said.
“About an hour-and-a-half after, officers noticed the sheet moving, so they were able to confirm that the child did in fact have vital signs,” Proctor said.
The officers immediately notified medical staff, who stabilized the child.
Proctor had no information on what had been perceived to be the cause of death.
Proctor said Saturday evening the baby and her mother were in hospital, both in healthy condition.
“I can’t comment on her emotional condition,” he said of the infant’s mother.
He would not disclose at which hospital the mother and infant are currently being treated.
Proctor said the incident was very unusual.
“We all hear stories like this from around the world, but this is something that is close to home and we’re not used to dealing with,” he said.
“But obviously, it’s a strange story with a happy ending.”
