baby feet
According to authorities, Brittany Robinson's baby may have been alive when born Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A 23-year-old woman in Pennsylvania has been arrested after her father discovered her infant's dead body under the porch of their house. Brittany Robinson's father was putting up Christmas lights when he discovered the corpse inside a bag and immediately called the police.

Authorities arrested Robinson on 26 November and have charged her with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and concealing the death of a child. According to information released by the local police, Robinson complained of severe abdominal pain last week and gave birth in her home on 24 November.

She claims the seven-pound infant did not have a pulse and was not breathing. She allegedly wrapped him in a T- shirt and placed him in a drawer of a dresser on the porch. On Saturday she went to check on the baby and after noticing that he was still not breathing, she transferred his body to the crawlspace under the house.

The accused stated that she was not aware that she was pregnant and neither was her family.

Based on a primary examination, the authorities believe the baby boy may have been born alive. "When you seen this baby, it's not what everybody envisions as you see there's a baby that appears to be dead or decomp," Lt Eric Hermick of the Pennsylvania State Police told WPXI. "This baby was in excellent physical condition. It still looked like it was alive at the scene."

Robinson received post-childbirth treatment before being taken into custody.

"Laws protect mothers who have babies who don't want them," Hermick said. "They can drop them off at a police station or hospital. Here's a case here where, quite frankly, the baby looks like it was fine and just left to die."