KY - 1st infant dropped off at “baby box” safe surrender location, Bowling Green, 11 Feb 2023

[imstilla.grandma]

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has seen its first infant anonymously dropped off at one of its “baby box” safe surrender locations.

At a news conference Friday, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder and CEO Monica Kelsey said the child was dropped off within the last seven days at a Bowling Green Fire Department location, declining to be more specific to protect anonymity. She said fire department staff was able to tend to the child in less than 90 seconds.

The child is the 24th in the country to be surrendered at one of more than 130 baby boxes and drawers the organization has established across nine states.

“This baby is healthy. This baby is beautiful. This baby is perfect,” said Kelsey, who added that officials are now looking to place the child in “a forever home.”

Gov. Andy Beshear signed a law in 2021 that allows the use of baby boxes for children less than 30 days old. The law requires the boxes to be located at police stations, fire stations or hospitals that are staffed 24 hours a day. It also requires equipping them with a notification system to alert the first responders on site that a child has been placed inside the box.

Kentucky now has 16 baby box locations. The Bowling Green box had been operational for less than two months. Safe Haven Baby Boxes are installed in the exterior wall of a fire station or hospital. An exterior door automatically locks when a newborn is placed inside, and an interior door lets a medical staff member secure the baby from inside the building.

1st infant in Kentucky surrendered anonymously at ‘baby box’

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky has seen its first infant anonymously dropped off at one of its “baby box” safe surrender locations. At a news conference Friday, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder an…

www.mypanhandle.com

 

[shadowdancer]

This baby box had only been operational for two months! Just in time for this little one, thank goodness!

He or she will be a dream come true for a couple who cannot conceive, and they will always be able to know that their birth mother loved them enough to make sure they would be safe and cared for.

 

[Rolypolyoly]

Thankyou to the Mama who loved her baby enough to do this for them. I hope you are safe and well, and know you have given your baby and their soon to be parents the greatest gift.

If only there were more of these stories here in WS rather than the sad outcomes we usually read about.

 

[msmarple99]

Thankyou to the Mama who loved her baby enough to do this for them. I hope you are safe and well, and know you have given your baby and their soon to be parents the greatest gift.

If only there were more of these stories here in WS rather than the sad outcomes we usually read about.

Happy & safe life little one

 

[I wonder]

This is so sad. It’s unlikely mum didn’t want her baby, though possible but it’s more likely that she couldn’t keep her baby, for whatever reasons. She’ll have a life of wondering what happened to her baby, if he/she is happy, safe and loved. Walking around wondering if he/she’s living nearby, wondering if she’ll ever see him/her again.

Baby will have a lifetime knowing his mum gave him up and anonymously so there no possibility of him/her ever finding his/her mum, dad, siblings etc. That’s a lot to cope with.

The bond between a mum and her baby is unique. She kept her baby safe for 9 months. It’s really made me cry.

I wish this baby the very best of lives and I am thinking of mum, too. I hope she can be happy again.

 

[PeregrineFalcon]

This is so sad. It’s unlikely mum didn’t want her baby, though possible but it’s more likely that she couldn’t keep her baby, for whatever reasons. She’ll have a life of wondering what happened to her baby, if he/she is happy, safe and loved. Walking around wondering if he/she’s living nearby, wondering if she’ll ever see him/her again.

Baby will have a lifetime knowing his mum gave him up and anonymously so there no possibility of him/her ever finding his/her mum, dad, siblings etc. That’s a lot to cope with.

The bond between a mum and her baby is unique. She kept her baby safe for 9 months. It’s really made me cry.

I wish this baby the very best of lives and I am thinking of mum, too. I hope she can be happy again.

With DNA these days the child will most likely know who he/she came from, if they want to know.

 

[I wonder]

With DNA these days the child will most likely know who he/she came from, if they want to know.

Possibly through genealogy sites?

Mum was very brave. Are people allowed to leave a toy or something with the baby? Something they would have from their mum?

 

[borndem]

With DNA these days the child will most likely know who he/she came from, if they want to know.

There would have to be a DNA match from mom (or dad), wouldn't there? JMO

 

[Allabouttrial]

Thankyou to the Mama who loved her baby enough to do this for them. I hope you are safe and well, and know you have given your baby and their soon to be parents the greatest gift.

If only there were more of these stories here in WS rather than the sad outcomes we usually read about.

Dam. You just made me tear up!

 

[borndem]

Hoping the news article goes national -- to let moms-to-be, moms, families and others know that there are good, safe, free, and no-questions-asked places for moms to leave their babies when the mom cannot care for the new baby.
Many folks already know where these places are, but the more who know, the better.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

An infant in Kentucky became the first in the state to be dropped off safely in a “baby box” at a fire station last week, following the passage of a state law allowing anonymous surrendering of newborns at such devices.

The “baby box” at a Bowling Green, Kentucky, fire station had been in operation for a little under two months when someone left the infant inside, Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder and CEO Monica Kelsey said in a press conference Friday.

The child was pulled from the box by firefighters within around 90 seconds. “This baby is healthy, this baby is beautiful, this baby is perfect, and the Department of Child Services is now looking for a forever home,” Kelsey said.

“This child that was surrendered here was not abandoned. This child was legally, safely, anonymously, and lovingly placed inside of the Safe Haven Baby Box. And that speaks volumes about the parents,” Kelsey said.

Kentucky sees its 1st infant anonymously surrendered at a fire station 'baby box' | CNN

An infant in Kentucky became the first in the state to be dropped off safely in a "baby box" at a fire station last week, following the passage of a state law allowing anonymous surrendering of newborns at such devices.

www.cnn.com

Republican state Rep. Nancy Tate, who sponsored the legislation, told WNKY-TV that she hopes to have at least one box in every county in the state.

"It makes my heart full to know how supportive this project is," Tate said.

First infant anonymously dropped off at Kentucky 'baby box' surrender location

The first infant in Kentucky was anonymously dropped off at one of the state's “baby box” safe surrender locations. A 2021 law allows parents to surrender their newborns.

www.foxnews.com

Safe Haven’s website said the boxes are required because “many mothers-in-crisis want and need anonymity when surrendering an infant, due either to fear of recognition, the stigma associated with surrendering a child, or fear of prosecution due to ignorance and/or misunderstanding of the law”.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/babies/first-infant-surrendered-anonymously-at-baby-box/news-story/6ec4d40a9b18ced961573980efe0a17e

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What a brave and loving decision.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Safe Haven Baby Box Website:

Why I Said Yes

by Monica Kelsey

shbb.org

Previously in Florida Jan 2023:
The box had been installed two years ago, and remains the only one in Florida. It had never been used — until now.

Authorities say a newborn baby was recently surrendered at the box, becoming the first infant in Florida ever saved by one of the devices.

Newborn surrendered at Florida fire station is first baby saved by state's only 'Baby Box'

A newborn baby was recently surrendered at a fire station in Ocala thanks to a Safe Haven Baby Box — the only one in Florida. It's the first time an infant in the state has ever been saved by one of the devices. The founder of the organization was herself abandoned as a baby, and says these...

www.fox13news.com

 

[MarziPanda]

This is so sad. It’s unlikely mum didn’t want her baby, though possible but it’s more likely that she couldn’t keep her baby, for whatever reasons. She’ll have a life of wondering what happened to her baby, if he/she is happy, safe and loved. Walking around wondering if he/she’s living nearby, wondering if she’ll ever see him/her again.

Baby will have a lifetime knowing his mum gave him up and anonymously so there no possibility of him/her ever finding his/her mum, dad, siblings etc. That’s a lot to cope with.

The bond between a mum and her baby is unique. She kept her baby safe for 9 months. It’s really made me cry.

I wish this baby the very best of lives and I am thinking of mum, too. I hope she can be happy again.

I agree. It is so hard to be a foundling. With traditional adoptees at least there's paperwork, there's a way to find out. For foundlings there is nothing. The only hope is DNA testing but for people of some ethnic backgrounds this won't provide an answer either. I watched a show about foundlings trying to find out where they come from and it was sad to see how desperate they were for connection. Some (a young black woman and an older lady who was left on a doorstep in Hong Kong) didn't have close enough DNA connections to find biological parents.

Let's not forget that whilst this is better than being abandoned to die, it is still a very real trauma for this baby. Their life has started with the loss of their entire family. They will carry 'the primal wound' of maternal separation (worth researching!). They are not a gift for a couple who couldn't have their own baby, they're a person. There's a reason why gift language is so frowned upon by many adoptees and donor conceived people. It's dehumanising and makes people feel like they can't have negative feelings about the trauma of biological separation.

I don't disagree with these boxes but I also think that more money needs to be put into supporting desperate women to keep the babies they so clearly love. If all the money put into the billion dollar infant adoption business were instead put into supporting families to stay together then there almost wouldn't be any need for infant adoption. A woman who loves her baby and desperately wants to keep them but doesn't have the money/support gives her baby to an agency who then basically sells it for five figure sums. When that money would have kept the mother and baby together. It feels wrong. If everyone really wanted what was best for baby then that money would go to keeping the family together. Baby boxes, whilst a sad necessity in some places, are just putting a bandage over the social issues.


JMO

 

[msmarple99]

May you have a happy, safe & loving life little one, God bless

 

[BrownRice]

May god bless this mama. I hope the press chills out though. It’s nice to mention it to make it known to the public as a resource. But my concern with so much attention is people will try to figure out who the mom is, asking about DNA etc which could be a deterrent for future unwanted pregnancies.

 

[mickey2942]

Hoping the news article goes national -- to let moms-to-be, moms, families and others know that there are good, safe, free, and no-questions-asked places for moms to leave their babies when the mom cannot care for the new baby.
Many folks already know where these places are, but the more who know, the better.

If you have access to transportation.

I am glad that this baby is safe, but I wonder about the mother. It worries me that this could be a baby that was born to a young girl, and the family didn't want any one to know of the pregnancy.

Who knows? At least the baby is safe. Although, I worry about the mother, and her situation.

 

[Allabouttrial]

May god bless this mama. I hope the press chills out though. It’s nice to mention it to make it known to the public as a resource. But my concern with so much attention is people will try to figure out who the mom is, asking about DNA etc which could be a deterrent for future unwanted pregnancies.

.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

If everyone really wanted what was best for baby then that money would go to keeping the family together. Baby boxes, whilst a sad necessity in some places, are just putting a bandage over the social issues.

RSBM.
I respectfully disagree. There are so many reasons someone might make this choice, not just financial. So many good reasons. The biological mother/parents who choose this have decided it's what's best, and they should be believed. They may be saving that baby's life/ well-being in many different ways. I believe them.

 

[IceIce9]

I agree. It is so hard to be a foundling. With traditional adoptees at least there's paperwork, there's a way to find out. For foundlings there is nothing. The only hope is DNA testing but for people of some ethnic backgrounds this won't provide an answer either. I watched a show about foundlings trying to find out where they come from and it was sad to see how desperate they were for connection. Some (a young black woman and an older lady who was left on a doorstep in Hong Kong) didn't have close enough DNA connections to find biological parents.

Let's not forget that whilst this is better than being abandoned to die, it is still a very real trauma for this baby. Their life has started with the loss of their entire family. They will carry 'the primal wound' of maternal separation (worth researching!). They are not a gift for a couple who couldn't have their own baby, they're a person. There's a reason why gift language is so frowned upon by many adoptees and donor conceived people. It's dehumanising and makes people feel like they can't have negative feelings about the trauma of biological separation.

I don't disagree with these boxes but I also think that more money needs to be put into supporting desperate women to keep the babies they so clearly love. If all the money put into the billion dollar infant adoption business were instead put into supporting families to stay together then there almost wouldn't be any need for infant adoption. A woman who loves her baby and desperately wants to keep them but doesn't have the money/support gives her baby to an agency who then basically sells it for five figure sums. When that money would have kept the mother and baby together. It feels wrong. If everyone really wanted what was best for baby then that money would go to keeping the family together. Baby boxes, whilst a sad necessity in some places, are just putting a bandage over the social issues.


JMO

Surrendering a baby is not necessarily due to financial issues. I live in Indiana, and the safe haven baby box in the highest income area has had three baby surrenders within 6 weeks.

This city has an abundance of resources for pregnant woman, low income families, and other social needs.