A mother accused of tampering with her 5-month-old daughter's intravenous line made her first appearance before a judge Friday.

Her brother, meanwhile, told the Observer that she may have only been trying to flush the line with saline, following the directions a nurse had given her.

Ladonna Kaye Parlier, 26, appeared before the Mecklenburg court for the brief hearing via video from jail, where she is held under a $137,500 bond.

Parlier's brother described Parlier as a "great mom" to her four children. She had refused to leave the bedside of her youngest daughter, who has suffered medical problems since birth, he said.

Early Thursday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called to Carolinas Medical Center after receiving a report of child abuse.

Hospital staff reported seeing Parlier inject a substance into the IV line belonging to her daughter, according to police sources. Police said they charged Parlier with five counts each of felony child abuse and misdemeanor child neglect after an investigation revealed the infant had been abused "on several occasions."

A police report says Parlier "aspirated blood from and then injected some unknown substance" into her daughter with syringes. Arrest warrants show Parlier, a stay-at-home mom who lives with her family in Conover, is accused of "drawing vials of blood which can be life threatening."

Police said Thursday that the baby remained in stable condition at CMC.

Parlier's brother, Tim Justice of Catawba County, told the Observer that the 5-month-old was born with a cleft palate.

The girl hadn't been gaining weight, and doctors didn't know why. She's had blood transfusions, he said, and a feeding tube.

He said Parlier told her mother that a nurse had shown her how to use a syringe to flush out the IV with saline. Justice said he was shocked by the charges and said he believed his sister was a "great mom."

Parlier's husband told WBTV that she was prescribed antidepressants after the baby was born but had not been taking them recently.

Staff researcher Maria David contributed.