A 20-year-old Perry County woman is under doctor’s care with a warrant for her arrest after allegedly putting her newborn child in a trash can Thursday evening, according to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect, who District Attorney Michael Jackson identified as Stephanie Coates, will be arrested and charged with attempted murder once she is released from doctor’s care, according to Perry County Sheriff Billy Jones.

“In my 23 years, which is my entire career in law enforcement, this is the first time I’ve had to deal with something like this here,” Jones said. “It’s very touching, and it’s very sad. It’s a blessing that the baby is still alive.”

According to Jones, Coates delivered the child alone at her home on Sand Road in Newbern, cutting the umbilical cord with a razor.

Later that night, the suspect’s mother arrived at the home and found blood on Coates and the floor. She was taken to a hospital in Demopolis and accompanied by her mother and her husband.

The woman told her family and doctors that it was a miscarriage, Jones said. Doctors determined the birth was not a miscarriage and questioned if her baby was in Perry County.

When the doctors asked her what happened, she told them that she didn’t know whether the baby was dead or alive and she put the newborn in a trash can, Jones said.

The father made his way back to the home, heard the 5-hour-old child crying and transported him to a hospital in Greensboro. The Perry County Sheriff’s Office was then notified and responded to the hospital Thursday at 11:10 p.m.

The child was airlifted around 12:45 a.m. Friday from the Hale County Hospital to Children’s of Alabama in BIrmingham, where he is currently being treated for lung damage and an infection caused by the way the umbilical cord was cut, Jones said.

“He was six pounds and 13 ounces,” Jones said. “They had to work to get his temperature up.”

Officials have yet to learn why the women reportedly placed her child in the trash can.

“She could have been in denial, or she just didn’t want the baby,” Jones said. “She stated that she didn’t know that she was pregnant. We’re still investigating.“

The Perry County Sheriff’s Office and Perry County Department of Human Resources continue to investigate.

It’s likely that the child will be placed in the Perry County DHR after the newborn has received treatment, Jones said.

Should the baby die, the mother will be charged with capital murder, according to Jackson.