How can we prevent mothers from "baby dumping" their newborns?

Question

Many states (45 at this time) have enacted laws providing "safe havens" (such as police stations, hospitals, and fire stations) for mothers to drop off their newborn babies without any risk of prosecution or without having to answer any questions. Yet an alarming number of newborn babies are still being left for dead in the coldest, harshest, filthiest parts of our cities. What else can we do to keep mothers from doing this? Even in the states with safe haven laws many babies are still being left for dead in dumpsters. What else can we do to make sure there are never any more newborn babies "dumped" in this country? How can we make this a higher national priority? What is the future of our country if it isn't the children, ALL of them, safe and alive and healthy?

Answer 1

In the beginning this law was advertised a lot, but lately there has not been anything about it anywhere except for when there is a baby found in a spot that is not safe, then the news will mention the safe law.

We need much more advertising. Flyers need to be in doctor's offices...not just OB docs either. It needs to be in ER's, on tv and bill boards and it needs to be taught in the high schools and colleges. There should be signs or flyers put up in grocery stores and especially in the neighborhoods where the young kids don't always attend school.

This should be taught just like sex is in school. While they are talking about sex, they need to add the information on this to it also. Boys and girls need to know it. If the girl doesn't then maybe the boy that got her pregnant can tell her.

Information could be added to home pregnancy tests too.

There needs to be a "logo" to be put on a sign and these signs need to be located in plain sight at these safe places. Teach this sign to everyone at a young age (and the sign needs to be uniform across all states!).

I personally think that churches should be a safe haven too, but I guess there are some "questionable" churches out there.

Hope this gets to someone that can do something about it!

Answer 2

We need to stop promoting sex to young girls. They are the ones that get pregnant and them dump there babies because they don't want people to know they had one. It's sad that so many women ages 16-18 are having so many babies. Yet schools still want to teach "Safe Sex" there is no such thing as safe sex, kids need to not have sex until they can accept the responsibility that comes with it. When that happens we won't have so many babies suffering.


I really don't think the "Safe havens" are to great, I mean yea its better to drop your baby off there then on a back road. But then we do you ever think about what happens to the babies. It's not like the babies get dropped off and promised to a good family that day. Most of the babies will grow up in foster homes. Who knows how many they will live in. They might have a worse off life then if they stayed with the mother. That is why I think we need to teach kids NOT TO HAVE SEX and stop teaching them about safe sex.

Answer 3

I don't know. I wish I did but this problem bothers me too.

The safe haven laws only work if people use them and I really don't think these kids trust that they will not face any trouble if the use it. It should be publicized more and they need to find a way to show that it van be trusted. Post stats of how many babies are saved because of this law. Recruit those who have been there and done that to talk to kids (some are more willing to come forward after some years have gone by). Recruit girls who are in jail for dumping a baby to talk to kids. I think they really need to hear the gruesome facts.

Answer 4

Like so many issues out there, you won't like the answer:

Incarcerate all pregnant women. And have all women perform half yearly checks. (until proven sterile)

Any other solution will have not the required effect, there will always be people who panic/don't care for whatever reason and get rid of their babies in the wrong way.

As a solution the safe places are our best bet, another is education of the public which will have society see unwed mothers as a natural thing rather than a sinner/tramp/"not my daughter". Education is hard because there are too many other forces that oppose this view.

Answer 5

There's no way. A couple of weeks ago a baby was found in the dumpster behind a casino here dead with the umbilical cord still attached. It happened to be a siixteen year old girl who did it. As far as teenagers go I think parents should not threaten their kids with what they would do if they ever got pregnant or else it would keep happening because they'll be scared. As far as adults doin it...hmmm I have no words for it

Answer 6

There are many sick people out there. I don't watch the news or read the paper because stuff like this makes me sick to my stomach...especially after I had a baby myself. You simply have to worry about yourself and your own family and be happy that you are giving your own children a good home and pray that the others in the world will be given a chance and that the ones that aren't will be in a better place than perhaps if they were alive today.

Answer 7

What is this alarming number? Do you really have statistics?

I don't think you will able to affect this number much. You will ALWAYS have girls that are traumatized and terrified of their parents and will make every attempt to hide their pregnancy and the baby. For many it's a kind of psychotic break with reality. It would be nice if you help some, but don't think you'll ever get them all.

Answer 8

I heard one time about a place that babies could be placed in a special place that was not under any type of observation, completely anonymously. It was climate controlled and could be accessed outside, but people inside could retrive babies without seeing who left it. I don't know the answer to your other questions. In addition to baby dumping we do a lot of things that are very bad for kids. Even if left safely, a lot of bad happens to kids in foster care, etc.

Answer 9

The Safe Haven law is such a good thing. Maybe the mothers aren't aware of it and we need to make commercials and put it on billboards.

Answer 10

you could pay women to put their unwanted babies up for adoption and some still would dump them. the safe havens are a good idea but alot of people don't even know they exist. they need to advertise that those are places you can go and sign off your parental rights.

perhaps parents should be paying more attention to their daughters because i'm sorry but i don't know how you could look at your daughter and not notice that she's pregnant.