MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- Police have called off a large-scale search for a woman they believed had given birth in a park in Mississauga, Ont., after discovering she had dumped her year-old afterbirth in the area.
Const. Sarah Patten says the woman gave birth a year ago at home in Brantford, Ont., and kept the afterbirth for "holistic purposes."
She says the woman then decided to return the afterbirth to nature, which led her to the Sugar Maple Woods Park on Nov. 22.
A man walking his dog came across blood, forceps and other evidence of childbirth on Tuesday, which kicked off a search for a woman and a child who police believed needed medical attention.
Patten says the incident is not suspicious and police have closed their investigation.
She says there are health and safety issues related to dumping bodily fluids in public and urged against it.
"We recommend not disposing afterbirth in public parks or areas exactly where animals are walking or anyone could pick this up or even misunderstand why it's there," Patten said. "It can definitely be misunderstood that someone was hurt, then police became involved and there were a lot of resources being utilized unnecessarily."
