Medical findings
A two-week-old Oklahoma City infant tested positive for amphetamines, methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, according to police information reported by News 9. Police also said the child was hypoglycemic and malnourished. Emergency medical personnel took the infant for hospital treatment after officers went to a residence near North Hudson Avenue and West Britton Road.
Police investigation and charges
The Oklahoma City Police Department went to the residence Tuesday for a welfare check after Oklahoma Department of Human Services personnel reported concerns that a child had been born inside the home, News 9 reported. Police said a hospital blood test detected the four substances. Officers also described the child’s 36-year-old mother, Savannah Sniffen, as behaving erratically while denying that she was under the influence of narcotics. A search of the residence turned up medication and drug paraphernalia, according to the report.
Sniffen was taken into custody on complaints of abuse, neglect or exploitation of a child and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to News 9. The supplied reporting does not provide booking or bond information, a case disposition, the infant’s current medical condition or custody status, or an explanation of how the substances entered the child’s system.
Statewide context
According to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, 1,040 infants were affected by withdrawal symptoms in state-licensed medical facilities in 2018, while 70 percent of birth parents were not connected with treatment after delivery. Those statewide figures do not establish details about the Oklahoma City case.
Other reported infant drug cases
The Oklahoma City case follows other reports involving newborns and drug testing. In South Carolina, a woman was arrested after her newborn died hours after birth and tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the Herald Online. In a separate Saluda case, a woman was charged with child abuse after investigators said her newborn tested positive for fentanyl, CBS 12 reported.
