UK - Three abandoned babies (2017, 2019, 2024) full siblings found in London

[shinimeggie]

The BBC reports --

'Very few babies are recorded as abandoned at birth in England and Wales. The ONS only published data until 2015, and that showed no babies were registered as abandoned for the previous three years, with just one logged as abandoned in 2011.

However academic researchers estimate the number higher, external, at about 16 per year - in analysis covering the period 1998-2005.'

So it sounds like they're measuring what 'abandonment of a baby' means differently to reach two separate conclusions -- if I'm reading this correctly they're also measuring different years. It's still rare, however, even if we take the 16 number.

Source: Abandoned baby Elsa is third newborn deserted by same parents.

 

[momsof3]

We have "Windows of life" in Poland.

View attachment 508122

They are in hospitals, Church buildings, doctors' practices in every town/city.

View attachment 508124

Window of Life -
(Okno Życia in Polish)

a specially prepared place that allows mothers who cannot or do not want to take care of their newborn to leave the baby/babies there anonymously and safely.

View attachment 508127

"What is a 'window of life'?​

'A Window of Life'
is a place where a woman can anonymously leave her child after giving birth.

The main goal of creating such places
is to provide a safe space,
thanks to which the child has a chance for a loving home,
which for various reasons cannot be provided by child's biological mother.

It is also a safe space for the mother:
the woman leaves the baby anonymously,
which is not allowed by the procedure for leaving the baby in the hospital after birth."

View attachment 508133

Okno życia – Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia

pl.m.wikipedia.org

Okno życia – co to jest, jak działa i na czym polega procedura? | MamaDu.pl

Okno życia to miejsce, w którym rodzic może anonimowo i bezkarnie zostawić dziecko. W Polsce istnieje ok. 70 takich punktów, większość z nich prowadzona jest przez Caritas. Poznaj dokładną procedurę oddawania dziecka do okna życia i adopcji.

mamadu.pl

These pictures make me tear up. You can feel the care that the infants will be given. I imagine it would be tremendously reassuring to a scared mother.

 

[Lusitana]

I don't think whoever is abandoning these babies actually wants them to die. The Thames is super close, if the person who is leaving them didn't want the babies to be found and survive, the water is right there.

But something isn't right, 3 babies by the same parents. Super strange.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

So any drop off hatches would need to be at hospitals, which are by nature bustling with people and bristling with CCTV.

They could set up the baby hatch a short distance from a hospital, around a quieter corner, also walking distance from public transportation stops. In a city like London, I do believe it would be used. The alarm would notify hospital staff, who could then be there pretty quickly. It surprises me that the UK doesn't have these!

 

[steeltowngirl]

All I can think of is Josef Fritzl, who held his daughter prisoner for decades and raped her daily. She was able to raise three of her kids in the basement dungeon and some of them were raised by him and his wife. I wonder if they can easily tell if the babies are a product of incest.

The basement dungeon reminded me of the 3 young girls kidnapped and held captive in Ohio by Ariel Castro for a decade. One gave birth while in captivity.

Were there any missing young females in the same area 7 years ago?

 

[Rikissa]

These pictures make me tear up. You can feel the care that the infants will be given. I imagine it would be tremendously reassuring to a scared mother.

The problem for a child to have been left in a "windows of life" and other similar places is that it takes away the chance for the child to know anything about their familiar history, something which many adopted people have said they miss. Just think about how popular Ancestry and other similar tests are today.

Then, as it's very popular with DNA-tests, how can a woman or a man who once abandoned a child be certain that 20 years or more later that child will knock on their door and ask for why they were abandoned. Even if they themselves won't submit their DNA, they can't be sure that one of their relatives will do that. To suddenly have an "unknown" child pop up can cause havoc for the birth parents later.

 

[Dotta]

The problem for a child to have been left in a "windows of life" and other similar places is that it takes away the chance for the child to know anything about their familiar history, something which many adopted people have said they miss. Just think about how popular Ancestry and other similar tests are today.

Then, as it's very popular with DNA-tests, how can a woman or a man who once abandoned a child be certain that 20 years or more later that child will knock on their door and ask for why they were abandoned. Even if they themselves won't submit their DNA, they can't be sure that one of their relatives will do that. To suddenly have an "unknown" child pop up can cause havoc for the birth parents later.

Better to be left in a "window of life" in hygienic and safe place
than in a rubbish bin or in the street on the pavement.

Because there always
were, are and will be people who abandon their children anonymously
(for whatever reason).

Unfortunately.

So
this is a problem,
and not existence of "windows of life".

JMO

 

[Rikissa]

Better to be left in a "window of life" in hygienic and safe place
than in a rubbish bin or in the street on the pavement.

Because there always
were, are and will be people who abandon their children anonymously.

Unfortunately.

JMO

The best place would be at a hospital, after a child being born, to be given up for adoption, and that there should not be any shaming of a woman who for some reason felt that she was unable to take care of an unwanted child. Today, in many cases if a woman decides to give up a child, she is seen as a "unnatural mother", often both by family and by strangers, as she is expected to want to take care of a baby. I wonder how many women have been pressured into take care of a child they didn't want/felt unable to take care of, by family and/or societal expectations of how "motherhood will change you". Maybe some of those babies/children being found dead would have been alive if a woman would have been allowed to give up the child, without being judged for it.

 

[Dotta]

The best place would be at a hospital, after a child being born, to be given up for adoption, and that there should not be any shaming of a woman who for some reason felt that she was unable to take care of an unwanted child. Today, in many cases if a woman decides to give up a child, she is seen as a "unnatural mother", often both by family and by strangers, as she is expected to want to take care of a baby. I wonder how many women have been pressured into take care of a child they didn't want/felt unable to take care of, by family and/or societal expectations of how "motherhood will change you". Maybe some of those babies/children being found dead would have been alive if a woman would have been allowed to give up the child, without being judged for it.

Mind you,
there are mothers who, for whatever reason,
DON'T give birth in HOSPITALS.

But do this in secret.

JMO

 

[Rikissa]

Mind you,
there are mothers who, for whatever reason,
DON'T give birth in HOSPITALS.

But do this in secret.

JMO

Yes, I know, but isn't it often because they are afraid of being shamed by family/society for getting pregnant too young/out of wedlock/and so on? If there was no fear of shaming, wouldn't most of them chose a safe hospital birth/giving birth with a skilled midwife at home, rather than in secret, maybe without help?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

To suddenly have an "unknown" child pop up can cause havoc for the birth parents later.

Well two other options are worse -- for a woman to raise a child against her preference or abandon the baby in the streets, such as these three were. In which case, genetic geneology can still be used to hopefully trace back the biological parents, and then they have a much bigger problem than a living child appearing on an Ancestry tree.

The alternative of a formal open-adoption is lovely, but it isn't always possible...

 

[lightofmine99]

If these are all siblings, my first unfortunate hypothesis is that they might all be products from abuse. Especially if the babies were all just abandoned out in the open, near a street, and in the elements (albeit wrapped up) instead of at a hospital, a church, a nice home's doorstep, etc. Abandoning a baby for someone else to take is supposed to be anonymous but they would definitely not want to be caught and questioned. MOO.

Does the United Kingdom have anything similar to the Safe Haven Laws (a.k.a Baby Moses's Laws) and baby boxes in the United States?

I agree that a major downside to baby boxes and Safe Haven Laws is that adopters have no idea about the medical history of the parents, which would be beneficial for the child's healthcare. Aside from humbly asking mothers/parents leaving their kids in a box to leave a note stating any potential health issues with the infant, I don't think there's a way to fix it. It is just a risk adopters have to take. MOO.

Hopefully Harry and Roman went to good homes and Elsa will also get a good home soon. <3

 

[Sarahlou]

^ No we don't have baby boxes here.

This is such a sad situation for all these babies. I'm concerned about the mother too, I really wish they were able to find her.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Hopefully Harry and Roman went to good homes and Elsa will also get a good home soon. <3

I wish the 3 could be together, but realize that’s not likely. I hope that later in life they will have a way to connect, if they desire.

 

[Pseudonymph]

Abandoning an infant anonymously but safely should not be a crime in any country. Kids are killed all the time by parents who don't want them. No baby should have to freeze to death just because authorities would prefer that moms walk up to the hospital door and give all their info.

 

[Pseudonymph]

I don't think that would affect the law in the UK though.
MOO

Northern Ireland is part of the UK (though that's obviously a touchy subject) and the news about Irish mother and baby homes including the Magdalen Laundries was international. England's not without its own history of adoption scandals either.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

^ No we don't have baby boxes here.

This is such a sad situation for all these babies. I'm concerned about the mother too, I really wish they were able to find her.

Maybe with the extra attention this case is getting, they will eventually identify the bio-parents. Someone may remember something suspicious about a neighbor, for example. Or someone in the area may have private security cameras. Hoping.

 

[dotr]

Maybe stretching the imagination a bit, but some women tend to have more than one set of twins, any chance this is the case here- gain 2, keep one? speculation, imo.

 

[amandab]

Maybe with the extra attention this case is getting, they will eventually identify the bio-parents. Someone may remember something suspicious about a neighbor, for example. Or someone in the area may have private security cameras. Hoping.

RIGHT - that got me thinking, isn't London known for having CCTV practically everywhere? (Ignorant American here, my apologies if I'm 1000% wrong)

 

[BreadnLumpit]

RIGHT - that got me thinking, isn't London known for having CCTV practically everywhere? (Ignorant American here, my apologies if I'm 1000% wrong)

No, you're absolutely right - London (along with most urban areas of the UK) is absolutely bristling with CCTV cameras, and that's without even counting all the private CCTV, ring doorbells and dashcams.

I'm astounded that nothing has been picked up on CCTV around the area where Elsa was left tbh.