A couple have been arrested and thrown into jail in the US state of Utah after allegedly giving their baby daughter drugs just hours after she was born.

The infant had developed an addiction in the womb as her mother Lacey Christenson had used heroin and prescription pain medication during pregnancy, police said.

Ms Christenson, 26, and her partner Colby Wilde, 29, admitted they had given their daughter drugs used treat heroin withdrawal at the hospital where she was born on 9 April, according to local news channel KUTV.

Mr Wilde said he crushed the pills known as Suboxone and applied the powder to his daughter’s gums while nurses and other hospital staff were out of the room – supposedly to hide signs of addiction in the child.

Sergeant Spencer Cannon, from Utah County Sheriff’s office, told reporters this took place “hours after the baby was born” and confirmed the pair were facing charges of drug distribution and child endangerment.

The couple first came to the attention of the authorities last month, when Mr Wilde was arrested on suspicion of drug possession, driving while intoxicated and driving without insurance, among other possible charges.

The father dropped his two-month-old daughter in her car seat twice while fleeing officers at a Walmart in Spanish Fork, a city around 50 miles south of Salt Lake City, after police were called to reports of a theft at the store.

Authorities took custody of the girl and her three brothers, aged two, four and eight. All four of the children are now being looked after by the father of the eldest boy.

Police searched the couple’s home and found drug paraphernalia and Suboxone pills in various areas of the house – including next to a cot and child’s cup.