Women can now leave newborns anonymously at Nijmegen hospital
Women who cannot or do not want to care for a newborn can bring the baby to a new room at Radboudumc. The hospital's medical director says he hopes it is never used.
The first foundling room (vondelingenkamer) in Gelderland opened on Tuesday in the Amalia children's hospital, part of the Radboudumc university hospital in Nijmegen. It is a safe, anonymous place where women can leave a newborn they cannot or do not want to care for.
Kitty Nusteling of Stichting Beschermde Wieg said: "The door is always open." She said a letter in the baby's cot urges the mother to seek help herself too, anonymously if she wishes. "We can help you, anonymously if you wish," she said. "You also need care yourself."
Nusteling said the foundation reaches 1,500 women a year. The reasons women give up a child vary widely, she said. Poverty, homelessness, unsafe relationships, honour-based violence and insecurity are among the frequent causes in this vulnerable group.
Jan Peter Rake, medical director of Radboudumc, said: "I actually hope this room is never used." He said he would rather see women ask for help, but that if they need the room, he hopes they find their way to it.
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Radboudumc (Radboud universitair medisch centrum)
The Radboud university medical centre is a large university hospital in Nijmegen, closely linked to Radboud University. It combines patient care, medical research and training of doctors and other health professionals. It is one of the main hospitals in the eastern Netherlands and a national centre for several specialised treatments.
Stichting Beschermde Wieg
Stichting Beschermde Wieg is a Dutch foundation (stichting, a non-profit legal entity) that supports vulnerable women, including women who cannot care for their baby. It is involved in foundling rooms (vondelingenkamers), where a mother can safely leave a newborn at a hospital instead of in an unsafe place.