A newborn abandoned on the street in Trois-Rivières

A newborn abandoned in the street was found and saved by a passerby who noticed his presence at the corner of Royale and Bureau streets in downtown Trois-Rivières, on January 1, 2025. Warmed at the last minute by the citizen , the first responders were able to take over in the minutes that followed to provide the necessary care to the baby, but also to the mother found a little further away, after she had given birth outside.

The afternoon of January 1 will long remain engraved in the memory of the first responders of Trois-Rivières, who found themselves faced with a situation that they could not imagine.

That day, a call was made to 911 at 3:07 p.m. to report the presence of a newborn abandoned outside, in the Marie-de-l’Incarnation district.

At 3:11 p.m., upon the arrival of the supervisor of the Coopérative des Ambulanciers de la Mauricie (CAM), at the corner of Bureau and Royale streets, the passerby had managed to warm the newborn with the resources in her possession. Two minutes later, the ambulance arrived on the scene to continue treatment and urgently transfer the newborn to the Regional Affiliated University Hospital Center (CHAUR) in Trois-Rivières.

We have to hurry, because we understand that after giving birth, we have to keep the baby warm, so we will do it quicklysays the director of operations of the CAMJérémy Lachance. That’s what the teams did and took care of him very quickly, put him warm in the ambulance. He comes out of the womb, already, it’s a shock for him, a birth, so, in circumstances like these, we have to be able to keep warm.

At the same time as this intervention, the police found the mother, a 38-year-old woman, a few blocks from the intersection where the baby was discovered. Realizing that she had given birth outside, a second ambulance was quickly dispatched to the scene.

We take her vital signs, we’ll make sure she’s OK physically, but also emotionally, then we’ll quickly transport her to the hospital.continues Jérémy Lachance. As with the newborn, there is also a heat factor. There, we’re talking about an event outside, we’re talking about hypothermia, so rapid treatment, get her warm, make sure her vital signs are stable and we take her quickly to the hospital. .

According to our information, the baby was then transferred from CHAUR at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center in Montreal. Information that the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center of Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec (CIUSSS MCQ) has still not confirmed. On the other hand, the CIUSSS MCQ confirms, in an email exchange, “that an event involving a person who gave birth outside occurred on January 1” and that “the necessary care and services were provided to those involved following the event “.

What we can confirm is that the mother and baby were transported to hospital alive.

A police investigation

For their part, the Trois-Rivières police ensure that the newborn is still alive and that all the stakeholders involved, in particular those from the Youth Protection Department (DPJ) of Mauricie and Centre-du- Quebec, are working closely on the file.

While the police investigation continues, the mother, a 38-year-old woman known to the police, remains detained. She must undergo her release investigation on Tuesday at the Trois-Rivières courthouse.

In particular, she faces justice, under the terms of the Criminal Code, for not having provided the things necessary for the existence of a child under 16 years old.