SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Two days after the San Francisco Fire Department confirmed a baby had been born “in public view,” a video of a child born on a city sidewalk began circulating on social media.
“Public view” is considered “an area viewable by the public like a sidewalk,” a department spokesperson told local reporters.
Authorities said the baby was born Thursday. Two days later, a graphic video was posted to Twitter showing a woman with a newly born baby lying on the sidewalk. A blanket covers the baby, who appears to still be attached via the umbilical cord, while the mother is partially blurred. The baby cries out as its face rests on the sidewalk.
A man can be heard saying, “You’re gonna be OK, just relax OK?” as he holds the blanket up to get a look at the baby. The mother seems worried that someone may try to take or hurt her baby as onlookers reassure her repeatedly that everything will be fine.
One person yells that they need to call an ambulance, “They will tell you what to do on the phone,” she says. The mother then begins to sit up, as the onlookers tell her to relax. She pulls her baby through her legs. The group gathers around with towels to help wrap the baby up, and then the video ends.
Reactions to the video are varied. A Twitter user wrote, “This makes me incredibly sad. We as a species need to show more humanity and kindness towards each other. We can do better.”
“My wife and I have spent our lives caring for an adopted special needs fellow (now 50) born to a heroin addict (we are told),” another user wrote. “The long term consequences of ignoring this drug/homelessness issue are enormous on society. We must do better.”
Authorities haven’t confirmed any details about the woman or the authenticity of the video due to medical privacy laws. San Francisco Fire told Nexstar’s KRON it cannot confirm the mother’s identity but said both mother and baby were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.