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Rose Smith (Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office).
An Idaho mother has been charged with a felony after giving birth to a baby with a severe heart condition and non-functional eyesight, as per local police reports.
Rose Smith, aged 26, from Idaho Falls, is accused of methamphetamine use during her pregnancy, following a positive drug test after the child’s birth.
According to court documents accessed by East Idaho News, Smith was accompanied by a man at the time of the birth in August 2025. This man reportedly admitted to police that he had consumed meth before arriving at the hospital, although Smith denied any drug use.
The documents further reveal that hospital staff repeatedly had to remind both Smith and her companion to tend to basic care needs of feeding and changing the baby, tasks they allegedly neglected.
The authorities removed the child from Smith and her companion on August 31. In the following days, it emerged that the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, alongside an Idaho Falls police officer, had visited Smith’s residence to take another child from her care, as documented in the court reports.
Smith and the man had been ordered to undergo drug testing after the baby was born in August, but they had failed to do so. Health officials went back to Smith’s home on Sept. 25 and reported unsanitary living conditions, including a foul odor coming from the residence and trash scattered all over.
In addition to the living conditions, feces were also observed on parts of Smith and the man’s body, according to the court documents. Smith was interviewed again about the child she gave birth to, and she allegedly downplayed the child’s condition.
Police say a detective spoke to Smith again about her meth use and she eventually admitted to smoking the drug while she was pregnant. She was arrested this month and charged with felony injury to a child.
Smith bonded out of jail on March 23. The man who was with her during the birth has not been charged with any crimes.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place for Smith on April 10.