Baby Hatch launched to reduce baby-dumping cases
KUCHING: The first ‘Baby Hatch’ which is a safe place for parents to place their babies, was launched here yesterday in the hope of seeing a reduction in the number of babies abandoned in unsafe places in Sarawak.
This project is a strategic partnership between KPJ Kuching Specialist Hospital and One Stop Teenage Pregnancy Committee to contain the problem.
Parents, particularly unwed mothers who have no one to turn to for help, can opt to place their babies at the Baby Hatch, located behind the accident and emergency unit of the hospital.
The project is meant to save lives rather than to encourage unethical act of baby- dumping.
According to Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, the identity of parents who leave their babies at the KPJ Baby Hatch would remain anonymous.
She said the hatch was not under surveillance but after the door was closed, the alarm would go off to alert hospital staff of the baby.
“They will be given enough time to place the baby inside the hatch. But after some time when the door is closed, hospital staff will be notified of the baby.
“We do not want the baby to be left alone there for too long for safety reason but just enough for the parents to leave,” she said before launching the hatch at the hospital in Tabuan Stutong Commercial Centre here yesterday.
Fatimah said the hatch “is not about encouraging teenage pregnancy or negative issue but focusing on saving lives”.
She said the project was set up to save the lives of not just the baby but also the mother, who could have a second chance to begin a new chapter in life.
Under the exist ing legal framework, individuals who dump babies would be prosecuted.
However, with the hatch at KPJ, the identity of mothers who leave their babies there would not be made known but lives could be saved.
“It is a holistic approach for teenage mothers because babydumping may lead to death,” said Fatimah.
She also appealed to KPJ to set up a website to publicise the hatch so that teenage mothers who were at a loss of what to do with their babies could look at the option.
Kuching had the highest number of baby- dumping cases at 10 followed by Sibu (7), Miri (6) from 2010 to 2016.
The total number of babydumping cases in Sarawak since 2010 is 45.
On teenage pregnancy, Fatimah said Kuching had the highest number at 19 cases, followed by Kapit (12) and Samarahan (4) for the 10-14 age group last year.
For the 15-17 age group, Kuching registered 260 cases followed by Kapit (139) and Samarahan (120) while for the 18-19 age group, Kuching recorded 237 cases followed by Samarahan ( 95) and Kapit ( 83).
She said teenage pregnancy made up 6.4 per cent of the total pregnancy in Sarawak last year.
“It is only three or four per cent in Peninsular Malaysia but ours is 6.4 per cent. Hence, advocacy work has to continue.”
Assistant Minister for Early Childhood Education Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, Assistant Minister for Welfare and Community Wellbeing Dr Abdul Rahman Ismai l, KPJ executive director Mah Lai Heng and medical director Dr David Ling were among those present at the launching ceremony.