By GINNY COOPER / Staff Writer

CALERA—A 27-year-old Calera woman was arrested and charged with chemical endangerment of a child and unlawful possession of a controlled substance on March 16.

According to court documents, Tiffanie Shae Gable allegedly did “knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally cause or permit” allow her unborn child to be “exposed to, to ingest or inhale, or to have contact with a controlled substance” as she was in possession of heroin.

Gable was also charged with the unlawful possession of heroin.

Gable was seven months pregnant at the time of her arrest, Lt. Kevin Turner, commander of the Shelby County Drug Task Force said. Though the drug task force did not perform a urine analysis at the time of arrest, Gable made “statements about using in the past few days” and the situation at the time of arrest led officers to believe “sometime before that (the arrest) she had been under the influence,” Turner said.

Turner stressed the dangers of heroin use during pregnancy, which includes premature birth, low birth weight, breathing difficulties, bleeding within the brain and infant death. Babies can also be born addicted to heroin and can suffer from withdrawal symptoms if the drug is used over a long period of time, Turner said.

Gable’s bond is currently being held in the Shelby County Jail on bond set at $30,000.

Gable has been charged with two class C felonies, and if convicted, Gable could face between one and 10 years for each charge.