Father of newborn finds abandoned baby

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Robert Shannon had just finished visiting his wife and their new baby at Sutter Roseville Medical Center when he helped another newborn into the world.

As he stepped through the doors of the Family Birth Center Friday night, he looked down and saw something wrapped in a small wool blanket. Inside, he discovered a baby girl.

''Any longer out in that cold would not have been good,'' said Shannon. ''It was a good spot to be found.''

Hospital staff said the newborn - dubbed ''Baby Autumn'' by nurses - was in good health. The 7-pound, 6-ounce girl with a head of brown hair and a light complexion likely will spend another day at the center before being moved to a foster home, said nurse Terry Stephens.

''Everybody who heard about the baby comes in and says, 'Oh, how cute!,''' Stephens said. ''I'm actually happy they chose to drop off the baby at a hospital. At least we can care for it.''

Stephens said ''Baby Autumn'' appeared to have been out in the cold just a few minutes before she was found.

The baby's discovery comes at time when several states have passed or are considering laws allowing new mothers to deposit their newborns at hospitals without legal repercussions.

State Sen. Jim Brulte, R-Rancho Cucamonga, authored California's so-called ''Save a Baby'' measure, which takes effect Jan. 1. He said Saturday that it is important to get the word out about the new law.

The law also provides for a two-week cooling off period to give a parent an opportunity to retrieve a baby that has been left at a hospital''It sounds like someone had heard about the legislation and went to the hospital,'' Brulte said. ''The good news is the baby's in good health and is going to be OK.''

Brulte said at least one distict attorney, San Bernardino County's Dennis Stout, has said he would follow the law's guidelines before it officially kicks in.

Roseville Police Sgt. Jim Fujitani said officers have examined security camera tapes, including one from the entrance where the infant was found, but that the image is too poor to help the investigation.

''You read about it in the news, but you never expect to see it,'' said Shannon, whose second child, a boy named Evan Michael, was born Thanksgiving Day. ''It was quite a surprise.''

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.shns.com.)