A premature baby found in a waiting room rubbish bin at a Washington hospital is in a stable condition, US police said yesterday.

Detective Brenda Anderson says it remains to be seen whether the boy will have developmental complications from oxygen deprivation.

The baby was blue with the umbilical cord around his neck when a nurse found him on Tuesday in a rubbish bin at Providence St Peter Hospital in Olympia.

The mother, 23-year-old Jasmine Marie Ritchey, has been remanded in custody for investigation of attempted murder and child abandonment.

Court records say Ms Ritchey went to the hospital complaining of stomach pain from chemotherapy but later admitted she didn’t have cancer. Authorities say Ms Ritchey told them she hid her pregnancy because she “needed to get her life together” before having more children.

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