Safe haven rooms open in Amsterdam & Rotterdam for anonymously giving up babies
Today, the academic hospitals in Amsterdam and Rotterdam each opened a room where mothers who are unable to care for their babies can safely relinquish them. The safe haven rooms are in cooperation with the Beschermde Wieg Foundation, which has created eleven such havens throughout the Netherlands.
Dutch law forbids abandoning a child, so the principle of a safe place to do so is controversial. Five years ago, the Dutch government decided to tolerate such havens to spare babies from a worse fate.
According to Parool, Amsterdam has been talking about creating a safe haven for a decade. The discussion came to a head three years ago when a live baby was found in a trash can in Holendrecht. Five years earlier, a baby was found dead near a lake in Amsterdam. The remains of a baby were also found at the port of Rotterdam in 2022.
“We want to offer every woman and her child care that is appropriate,” gynecologist Christianne de Groot of Amsterdam UMC said. She hopes that the option to safely and anonymously relinquish the child will encourage women in desperate situations to come to the hospital and seek help. “This makes a safe birth possible for the mother and her child. We work together with Beschermde Wieg and many other agencies in the country and Amsterdam region to ensure that the mother and child maintain contact with each other if possible. This is how we create quality of life.”
Erasmus MC in Rotterdam also opened its safe haven room today. When a mother enters the room, the door automatically closes and sends a signal to the nursing station that the room is in use. The mother can anonymously put her baby in the crib and walk away, but she can also talk to the hospital staff through an intercom.
According to Beschermde Wieg, its safe havens are used about twice a year. In recent years, it has always been possible to eventually restore contact between mother and childBarbara Muller of the foundation told NOS.
“It is great that in such large hospitals, there is a place where desperate mothers can get help,” Muller said. “There are already rooms in Rotterdam, but not in the academic hospital. This is the first in Amsterdam. In recent years, it has become sadly clear that it is really necessary.”
The broadcaster spoke to a woman who considered leaving her child in a safe haven. She became pregnant while homeless. “The homeless shelter was full. It was an extremely difficult period. I thought about abandoning my child. You want the best for your child. But if that is not possible, what should you do then?”
