Newborn Baby Living in House Full of Mold

My question involves child abuse or neglect in the State of: MD

NOT SURE IF THIS IS CHILD ABUSE (didnt know where to post)

an old friend of mine, we'll call her "K" just had a newborn baby. i think the baby is either a month or just about a month old. K is 23 and deaf. she has been proven mentally incompetent by her mother "T" when she was younger so T gets allthe checks and what disabled people get. problem is, T and her fiance L are frequent hard drug users and spend ALL their SSI checks (they get a few from another kid too) and sell food stamps for their hard drug use. their drug use really isnt the issue here, but K and baby live with T and L. T & L's house is the problem. incredibly filthy. MOLD covers the walls in every room and ceilings. they have a house made of cinderblocks so not very warm in winter and always damp. the mold has already started affecting baby. she has breathing problems and lips are blue. was rushed to the hospital a few days ago because of it. lips are still blue.

my question is here, i am thinking of that baby that has no fighting chance and i am not sure what to do. do i call social services and make an anonoumus tip? i have been told that just me calling wont make them do anything, so another person is calling about the mold as well.

please help me help this little girl.

Sure, call child services and report the situation if you think the child is at risk.

do you think she is at risk? mold causes horrible breathing probelms and is very harmful in newborns. she already started having breathing problems. is this a good enough reason for child services to interviene?

I would think the child could potentially be at risk for more than that. I would call on Friday, make mention going late in the evening might give a
more realistic atmosphere.

I have absolutely no idea, having never seen the house.

Mold is common and considered "normal" in many older houses. Only CPS/equivalent can really make the call. But seriously - this should be a no-brainer. Let them investigate. If things are safe, no harm done. If the child is at risk, they'll act.

However I'm curious as to why you are automatically linking the child's health issues with mold.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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However I'm curious as to why you are automatically linking the child's health issues with mold.

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that's what i personally think may be the problem. yeah. some mold is common, but THAT mold, its A LOT.

and while it may not be mold, it might possibly be the second hand smoke. there are 5 chain-smoking people living in a teeny tiny house. that could be the problem. however, i am not a nurse and cannot diagnose. i just dont want to see the poor child die or come close to it like she did a few days ago..

So make the call.

(It could be a gazillion reasons. Hypoxemia in a newborn is hardly unusual. The child was released back into her parent's care, so evidently the hospital didn't think it was anything worrying...)

Mold, even in what used to be considered "normal" amounts has been proven to be a serious health risk to adults. To a newborn baby, I shudder to think. This must be reported, at once.

The hospital may not have been aware of the mold in the baby's house and thought that once the breathing problems went away, the baby would be OK to go home. This may not have happened if the hospital had been aware of the mold.

they didnt make it in time. the poor baby died this morning in her home :(

So you called CPS, right? Last week?

yes. i called the 22nd and made a report. she died this morning and she had something in her lung (not too sure what it was), her face and lips were blue and purple and she was laying in a spot of blood that apparently came out of her mouth. please tell me IF someone is responsible they wont get away with it

The authorities will be called in, an autopsy will be performed and a cause and manner of death established. If there is any sense of wrongdoing the authorities will act upon it.

yes the authorities are investigating their house and the whole family minus the mother who was at the hospital has been at the police department all day. poor child. at least i tried :'(