Baby left at Dutch foundling room

A mother made use of a foundling room in the Netherlands. The mother could not care for her child due to her living conditions and left the baby in a foundling room shortly after giving birth. The child was placed with a foster family, RTL Nieuws reports.

For privacy reasons, the child's gender and which foundling room was used will not be revealed. As foundation Beschermde Wieg, who manages the founding rooms, is based in Dordrecht, Dordrecht mayor Wouter Kolff named the baby and registered the child at the Dordrecht registry office.

Volunteers from the foundation spoke to the mother. She initially wanted to give her child up anonymously, but eventually agreed to leave her data. Her information will be stored with a notary in a sealed envelope. Once the child turns 16, he or she can decide to find out where they came from.

Beschermde Wieg was founded in 2014 and has since helped more than 600 women with childbirth, who could not rely on regular assistance for whatever reason. Leaving a child as a foundling is actually illegal in the Netherlands. Of these women, 21 initially wanted to remain anonymous. Fifteen of them eventually decided to leave their data, and five decided to keep their child. Only one woman remained anonymous.