Newborn baby left at hospital in bag

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - A newborn baby inside of a garbage bag was dropped of at a Portsmouth hospital this weekend.

Hospital staff told WAVY.com a man brought the baby into the hospital and handed it to a nurse, just as Virginia's Safe Haven Law  directs, allowing a parent to give up a baby without facing charges.

Portsmouth police say in this case, while it appears Safe Haven worked, they are investigating and charges are pending. 

At Maryview Hospital's birthing center,  nurses say all babies are special, but the newborn boy brought through the hospital doors around 8 p.m. Saturday has captured a special place in their hearts.

"I said if I wasn't so old and a grandmother, I would stick him in my pocket and just go with him," nurse Debbie Parker said.

The nurses at the hospital affectionately named the baby David from the Bible, and gave him a special blessing for a good life Parker said he might not have had.  

"The baby was cold when he got here and it wouldn't have been very long that he would have no life in him," Parker said.

David is healthy now and in the custody of  Portsmouth Child Protective Services . The next step is to match him with a foster family already trained by CPS.

It will likely be a year before he can be adopted due to a lengthy legal process, but the hope is the family he goes home with will keep him forever.