EDMONTON – Covenant Health officially opened two newborn “Angel Cradles” in Edmonton Monday, the province’s first two drop-off locations to safely abandon unwanted babies.
The two locations operate out of the emergency departments at the Grey Nuns and Misericordia hospitals.
“It provides an alternative to help prevent unsafe abandonment, such as leaving a newborn in a trash bin or back alley” says Gordon Self, Covenant Health’s, Vice President of Mission Ethics and Spirituality.
“We were intrigued by the example set by Providence Health Care who opened a newborn safe haven at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, and asked if such a need existed here in Edmonton. After careful consideration, research and consultation during the past three years, we felt it was the right thing to do.”
The Vancouver site is located near the hospital’s emergency entrance, where a private alcove is marked by an angel sign. Parents can walk up to a small door and place a child into a bassinet on the other side. An alarm then goes off 30 seconds later to alert emergency room workers, allowing the parent time to walk away and maintain their anonymity.
The location is considered a safe haven, meaning police have agreed not to arrest anyone using the drop-off.
A spokesman for St. Paul’s in Vancouver said the site has been used just once in the three years it has been open. A two-day old baby was left at the hospital in July 2010, after which the infant became the responsibility of B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Covenant Health, a Catholic-based organization that runs the hospitals, stresses the goal of Angel Cradles is to provide an additional safety net, not replace or undermine the quality work provided by community social service agencies. (Read more about the program below).
“The reality is some parents feel they have no other choice if they have hidden their pregnancy or there are other perceived barriers to seeking appropriate help, and they end up abandoning their child in an unsafe setting,” explains Dr. Irene Colliton, Family Medicine Chief at the Grey Nuns Hospital.
Under the Angel Cradles program, the hospitals will not try to locate the parents of a baby left in the Angel Cradle as long as the baby is unharmed.
“We really are still pushing for good medical care, early medical care, use the resources that are available but as a last resort, in desperate measures, desperate times, that this is an option, a last resort option,” explains Shelly Buchan, a patient care manager.
Child and Family Services will make all attempts to identify and locate the parents—they are obligated to do so according to the law. Leaving a child in the Angel Cradle is not a criminal offence unless the baby is injured.
“This is anonymous. The intent is to be anonymous. There are processes that do need to be followed once the baby is in the care of the neonatal intensive care,” says Buchan.
At the Edmonton locations, once the Angel Cradle door is opened, a visual and audible alarm alerts the charge nurse to the delivery. The nurse picks up the baby and the department’s doctors and nurses assess the baby and the neonatal unit is consulted.
Safe haven drop-off locations are more common in the United States. Proponents say they offer protection for the most vulnerable, providing an important option for distressed and desperate moms who feel they can’t care for an infant.
However, the idea has remained controversial, with critics arguing that such facilities help legitimize the abandonment of children and make it OK for parents to dump their responsibilities on the government.
Still, Buchan says she’s very proud to be a part of the program.
“If we can make a difference in a positive way for one newborn, than we’ve done what we’ve set out to do.”
With files from Keith Gerein, Edmonton Journal
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