The person who handed over a newborn at Portsmouth Regional Hospital's emergency room last weekend phoned ahead, authorities said Monday.

“The person had called in and asked if it was a safe haven and was advised that it was,” Portsmouth police Sgt. Chris Roth said. “The person came by and left the baby with a nurse in the ER and then they left.”

This marked the third baby surrendered in New Hampshire since legislators passed the state's safe haven law in 2003.

“I think the law is working as intended,” said former Rep. Phyllis Woods of Dover, the bill's prime sponsor. “I'm sure this had to have been a difficult, gut-wreching situation for the mother.”

Roth said the baby boy, who was less than seven days old, was dropped off at the hospital around 4 a.m. Saturday. The law required authorities to be notified, so they could conduct a nationwide search to see if a baby might have been kidnapped.

“Nothing came back from that,” Roth said.

“I think it's a good law,” he said. “You see stories all the time about babies being left in Dumpsters.”

Woods said the state Department of Health and Human Services will help determine the infant's future, turning the child over to foster care pending adoption.

“I think their phone must be ringing off the hook,” she said.

The hospital's nursing supervisor on duty Monday declined comment.

The previous two New Hampshire safe haven cases occurred in a border town along the Massachusetts line and in one of the state's largest cities, according to Mike Morrissey, co-founder of Baby Safe Haven New England in Marlborough, Mass. He believes one case took place in 2004 and the second in 2007 or 2008.

“We try to keep things confidential, so the next woman doesn't worry she'll be splashed in the headlines,” Morrissey said.

Prior to Massachusetts adopting its law in 2004, New England saw between two and five abandoned babies a year. Of those, one to three proved deadly, he said. Now, there are between two and four babies surrendered at safe havens on average in a year; no deadly abandonments have been reported in about 4 1/2 years, Morrissey said.

Since Texas became the first state to pass a safe haven law in 1999, more than 2,000 newborns have been left in safe havens.

Police and fire stations, churches and hospital emergency rooms are considered safe havens, Morrissey said. In New Hampshire, “if you call 911, you can get an EMT or medical responder to meet you in any given location, so every square inch, because of that, is a safe haven,” said Morrissey, who consulted in drafting the New Hampshire law. “That's because there's a lot of rural areas and a lot of fire stations that aren't staffed.”

Woods said she worked closely with then-Sen. Bob Clegg, R-Hudson, on the issue.

“With all the criticism that people get serving in the House and Senate and they work for nothing and at a great sacrifice and a true public service, sometimes you wonder why, why do we do it?” Woods said. “Every now and then something like this comes along and does a world of good to remind them why they serve.”