Vancouver to have first baby drop-off spot in Canada

VANCOUVER — Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital is setting up its own version of the "foundling wheel," an idea first used in medieval Europe so mothers could leave unwanted babies at convents.

The wheels were wooden cylinders in the walls of convents where babies could be placed. The mother rotated the wheel, placing the child inside the convent, then rang a bell alerting nuns. The wheels came into use in the 12th century.

The downtown Vancouver hospital's version is called Angel's Cradle and is slated to officially open Monday.

Dr. Geoffrey Cundiff, head of the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology department, said he wanted a way for troubled mothers to leave their babies safely and anonymously at the hospital instead of abandoning them on the street.

"Every month, we have women in the hospital who have babies and leave them here, which is one thing, but some women abandon them in unsafe conditions. In February, there was a baby's body found in Burns Bog (near Surrey, B.C.) after being put in a Dumpster, there was another found between houses in East Vancouver. In the past we've had babies left on the steps of the hospital," he said.

While St. Paul's is the first hospital in Canada to set up such a system, similar programs are in operation in Southeast Asia and Europe, he said.

The Angel's Cradle — a bassinet where the baby can be placed — will be located in an alcove at the emergency department, under an angel sign.

"It's a private area and isn't covered by security cameras," said Cundiff.

Mothers can access it from outside as well as inside the hospital.

In place of a warning bell there will be an automatic alarm that goes off 30 seconds after a baby has been left to alert the nursing station.

The mother's anonymity is guaranteed as the staff will not approach her or attempt to identify her later, Cundiff said.

He said the hospital has reached an agreement with Vancouver police that no action will be taken by police to trace the mother.

"In the police's view this would not be considered an unsafe abandonment," he said.

However, women who abandon their newborns in other places could still face police investigation, he said.

Flyers advertising the safe haven program will be distributed in clinics, shelters, health centres, schools and other places where they can be seen by pregnant women, said Cundiff.

"It's important for us to get the word out. It's an opportunity for us to reach out to mothers and let them know there's a place here where their babies will be safe," he said.

The funding for the Angel's Cradle comes from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver's Project Advance, an annual collection taken in parishes for social programs.

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