It happens from time to time, but the amount of babies being abandoned at birth is rising worldwide. The latest alleged incident occurred Sunday March 30, on a Continental Airlines plane being cleaned in Houston. I said alleged because it has not yet been determined what the factors surrounding the baby’s death were and it is entirely plausible that a miscarriage happened, possibly without the mother’s knowledge.

The cleaning crew came across a dead baby in a bathroom and called in local authorities and the FBI. They will perform an autopsy to see if the baby was viable and then advance the investigation, as needed, from there.

I’m not jumping up and down declaring that someone murdered her baby – that will be determined in time - but I would be remiss to avoid covering this news story. It’s a sad story indeed, no matter how it started; but it is an absolutely avoidable tragedy if a woman willfully abandoned her baby to die.

I’ve said it before, and I’m going to keep saying it. Please, please take your baby to a hospital, medical center, police station, firehouse or engine company, or an ambulance company if you have nowhere else to go. They may ask you to fill out minor paperwork so you can claim your baby later if you change your mind. Under the Safe Haven law, they will accept your child and get him the medical attention he needs, and you will not be arrested or harassed.

In any emergency, especially one in which you think you are in labor or already have given birth, call 911 or local emergency services immediately. First responders can try to revive your baby if there are problems, and you can give the child up for adoption at any time. Please don’t fear getting arrested if you call for help; if you make the call right away you will not get in trouble.

If you’re on a bus, plane, or train, call for help from another passenger. Have them go tell the driver, flight attendant, or other employee your situation so they can get medical help. If you’re in a hotel or on a cruise ship, call the front desk or the ships emergency service number for help. If you’re in a shopping center, call on another customer to run and get help.

These tips may seem ridiculous to those who aren’t experiencing a crisis pregnancy; hopefully no one reading this article will ever have to use them. But for the one woman who reads this and remembers to call for help in the middle of a panic situation, this is for you. Remember, there are always people willing to help.