Stricken mother handed baby to stranger on street saying ‘He’d be better off with you’

A distressed mother handed her baby boy to a stranger on the street and told the woman ‘he’d be better off with you.’

The mother passed her little boy – believed to be between 12 and 15 months old – to the stunned stranger outside a laundromat in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday.

She then walked away, with the stranger she gave the baby to immediately contacting police.

Scranton Police Department said what the woman did does not constitute a crime.

They told WNEP that the mother chose the woman after seeing her with three other children, and deciding the woman would look after her son properly.

The child was well cared for and showed no signs of neglect.

She has since been tracked down, and is said to be homeless and struggling with mental health issues.

Local resident Desean Walls was among those who expressed sympathy for the mother.

He said: ‘It doesn’t necessarily mean the mother’s a bad person.

‘I mean, it takes a lot to admit you need help. I just think she did it the wrong way.’

The boy is currently being cared for by social services while workers continue to question his mother about her wellbeing.