Authorities are searching for the mother of a newborn baby boy who was found in a pile of trash in Jersey City. Sources say Hudson County prosecutors report the child was found Saturday afternoon near the city's McGinley Square neighborhood. The boy was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where a spokesman tells The Newark Star-Ledger the boy was breathing on his own.

Prosecutors did not disclose how long the child might have been outside.

Residents who live nearby say neighborhood children heard crying and saw movement in a pile of trash, and then alerted the building superintendent, who called police.

Building superintendent Arturo Rivas usually kicks kids out of the courtyard where the baby was found, but this time he's glad the teens were there, according to The Jersey Journal.

Laws in many communities are in place to keep this kind of tragedy from taking place.

According to the Journal of Perinatal Education, abandoned-baby laws have been around for decades to help desperate parents who believe they can't care for their newborns. These laws assure parents that the baby will not be harmed and will be medically cared for, no matter what the costs. The goal is to save infants' lives. These are state laws and are not uniform across the country. They must be passed by each state legislature. Abandoned-baby laws have several parts: The laws identify a safe location where a parent can leave a baby, who is under a certain age, without risking the prosecution of the parent, while assuring the parent's anonymity and confidentiality. They can also facilitate the termination of parental rights for infant adoption.