A child does not belong in a drawer

News of a baby being abandoned in the baby hatch emerges regularly. In October, it happened again: the third in three months. Since the hatch opened in 2000, 22 children have been abandoned. This is often presented as good news: a child has been saved. But behind this physical rescue lies primarily psychological suffering. A mother is left without a child and carries lifelong trauma. And the baby gets a difficult start from birth.

A system that leaves women alone

The baby hatch is described as "an opportunity for a distraught mother to anonymously give her child a warm and safe home." This sounds reassuring, but the reality is that the system leaves women in crisis completely alone. A mother who, out of desperation, has to abandon her baby in this way, has usually been isolated for a long time: financially, emotionally, socially. A hatch in a wall doesn't change these circumstances. She receives no information, no shelter, no psychological support. She disappears, just like her story. The guilt, shame, and grief remain, in silence, without a name or record, without anyone to listen. That's not a care system; that's looking the other way.

What a baby loses

For a newborn, the baby door might seem like a safe place, but it immediately deprives the child of their first right: knowing where they come from. A baby door deliberately creates a void: a system in which a child legally and emotionally belongs to no one. No mother's or father's name, no medical history, no family history. Only a date and file number. For many adoptees, the question "Why couldn't I stay?" isn't a philosophical consideration but a daily loss. Lack of information about their lineage can develop into a lifelong wound.

The myth of the 'safer' option

A common argument is that a baby hatch is better than a baby being killed. But neonaticide is a phenomenon that has endured throughout history, geography, culture, and social strata. The baby hatch doesn't change this. Research (Tilburg University, 2019) shows that most mothers who commit neonaticide fail to bond with their child, either during pregnancy or after birth. Some don't even experience the child as a living being, even after birth. In this respect, they differ from women who consciously relinquish their child, because they are fully aware of the reality of their pregnancy and, in their decision, weigh not only their own interests but also those of the child. Therefore, a baby hatch offers no effective solution to neonaticide: given the psychological state of these women, it is unrealistic for them to bring their child to the baby hatch.

What does work

If people know where to find a baby hatch, they might as well know where real help is available. We need to communicate more strongly within society about organizations where unplanned pregnant women can share their fears without judgment, where they can receive psychological support, and where they are helped to explore all options. Ideally, a child grows up with its own mother or within the extended family. If that's not possible, a warm, supportive home should be found, not through an act of desperation that abruptly separates mother and child.

Organizations like Adoption House and Fara already offer this support, free of charge and unconditionally. They also respect the child's right to information about their lineage, so they don't have to live with a dark hole later in life. 

Mother and child deserve more

A baby deserves more than a physically safe start. They also deserve a story about where they came from. And a mother deserves more than an anonymous opening in a wall. They deserve a door that opens, a chair to sit on, and someone to ask, "How are you, and how can we help you both?"

Useful information: www.adoptiehuis.be and www.fara.be 

A position of Binnenlandsgeadopteerd.be and Steunpunt Adoptie vzw