Australians have you heard of the "baby drop centres"????

Question

There has been alot of talk on the news about the mother that left her baby at the bus stop in shepparton...and today on the news i heard that they are thinking about opening "baby drop centres" where mother who have unwanted babies can leave them....what are your thoughts???? I know that it is better than leaving a baby on the side of a road or in a dumpster but it just doesnt sit well with me for some reason.......

Answer 1

I believe they have these drop off centers in most states of America to stop mothers from killing or dumping their babies.

I personally think that it cant hurt have a safe place where mothers can drop off unwanted babies and know that it will be taken care of and the mother can remain anonomous.  

I think Oprah did an episode about baby drop off centers and it did show that a lot more babies were being saved from possible death by providing this service.

I support the idea of having an anonymous drop off centre for babies if its going to stop mothers dumping their babies in bins and dumpsters.  If it saves just one life, then its proven successful.

Answer 2

I answered a question similar the other night and I will spare you the cut and paste, lol.

But the baby who was left in the bus shelter was already dead when dumped (still bad I know). What about the 18 yo who didn't know she was pregnant and left her baby wrapped in  the driveway of her neighbour with umbilical cord and placenta still attached? It has been proven that the baby had been there for over 12 hours in an Australian winter and was born alive and died all by itself on a concrete driveway because a teen freaked out.......that is what doesn't sit well with me.

The women who give birth but didn't know they were pregnant I can understand the turmoil, but even the ones who find out at 8 weeks they are pregnant have another 7 months to decide what they are going to do. I have suffered with PND twice and will have it again with my third so I have been helpless and desperate.....but also knew that professionals would try to help me, so I sought help.

There has been such a spate of child abuse, and baby dumps in the last 4 months here is Aus and I am ashamed that people either think this is ok behaviour or just are too desperate to seek the appropriate help.

A baby drop centre still might not be the best option, but it saves these poor little tiny newborns being left to die alone........that really doesn't sit right with me.

Answer 3

i dont like the sound of it but if it stops unnecessary deaths of newborns then i suppose they are needed

Answer 4

Well there is something like that in the US it's called the Safe Haven Law.  A woman may bring an infant to any police station, fire station, or ER room and leave her baby without any repercussions for her actions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safe_haven_...

Answer 5

it is alot better than on the streets etc.., but ppl should take extra protection , babies don't deserve to be thrown , left alone all their lives , knowing that they are unwanted by their own parents then what about society, its inhumane , there should  be a law to put an end on unwanted babies , this is not a game and they are not objects, they d o suffer even if they have been sent to good homes.

Answer 6

Doesn't sit well with me at all. its a band aid for a larger problem. It is not addressing the parenting issues or DOCS issues that Australia is facing. What is going to happen to these children after they have been "dropped"- placed in foster care. Still doesn't stop those people from being bad parents and the DOCS not having enough time/staff/funding to support them. Or addressing why these children are being dropped, young mothers, mental illness etc.

Answer 7

it does sound wrong, bbut on the whole i think it is right. it stops abortions and babies dying and it also gives the mothers an easy way out. like the baby bonus for example, get pregas, have the baby get the money and dump the kid. so i really dont know.

but if i had to chose it would be yes have the centres because it would stop alot of innocent babies from dying or being mistreated by the famiies who do decide to keep the babys and just abue them and hate them their whole life.

hope it helps

Answer 8

it would be safer for the childs sake but i hope parents dont take advantage of this.

Answer 9

hi charleig,it's sad to hear that anyone can do that to they baby,but i do think that it's a good idea that woman can take they babys somewhere were they can be looked after

Answer 10

i think we should have more education and support for mothers and pregnant women.

prevention is the key here

Answer 11

They have them, they're called Casualty Departments.

I find it hard to believe that the media would let something like an abandoned baby slip past unnoticed. It's the perfect story for them, it fires up the morals in their audience. So I can't see that there are enough dumped babies to warrant a centre.

Beside, they'd need to have them in widely available, or else they'd be no point. You'd have to have trained staff at them all 24/7...  It's a knee jerk reaction by people carried away by the emotional response to a terrible event.

A better idea would be to have contraceptives (and the emergency contraceptive pill) available over the counter, and subsidised so EVERYONE who wants to use them can.

Then launch more awareness campaigns saying that the only time you should have unprotected s*x is when you're TRYING to conceive.

Preventing unwanted babies is a thousand times more effective than trying to figure out to do with them once they're here.

Answer 12

I think it will help those poor babies that do end up being abandon and then not found in time. It will give the mothers of those children a safe place to go to give their children up and the babies will be safe which is the bottom line, they will be taken care for and can then be put into an adoption agency.

BUT

If there are such places it may encourage more women esp younger parents whoa re too scared to tell their parents to have the baby at home and then abandon them there, which cold lead to complication in the mother as well as the child should something go wrong. Which may lead to greater deaths in infants and certainly more dumping of those dead.

Maybe it could be expanded to a place where babies can be left and women can give birth or be checked out on an anonymous basis.

From the babies point of view though it will be a good thing, but it may have some negative side effects of the women giving birth.

Answer 13

I think it would be a good idea because at least the baby will be in safe hands instead of dieing on the side of a road. Im not sure though if people would really use them because I don't think the government will just let you walk in, drop off your baby and walk out, their will probably be a tonn of paper work involved, counciling, social workers, etc and women might be put off by that. These women who dump their babies aren't in the right mind frame so who knows what they would do. What I think the goverment should do is promote adoption so these women might consider adopting their babies out. Another thing the government should do is stop paying out the baby bonus to all these stupid 15 year olds that are getting pregnant. To get the bonus I think you should be over 18 so then we won't have so many ferals kids in so many years time running around our streets beating us up and robbing us.

Answer 14

Someone else asked a similar question.  I just have doubts that someone who's "out of their mind" for a spell will have the wherewithall to actually take the baby to a drop point.

I think maybe posters in hospitals for services such as Lifeline or other crisis lines, an easy to remember free call number, might be more helpful - somewhere a desperate mother knows they can ring from a public phone and tell them they've dumped a baby at a certain place.  Then they can still remain anonymous.  It's very very sad to have to even think about, but I don't see how someone who's not in their right mind would go somewhere where they think they might be found out.

I don't think we'd see an increase in baby dumpings because of a drop off point scheme - I just don't think someone who would "dump" their baby would necessarily use it.

It makes me so sad...

Answer 15

I think it goes to show that there is a big problem with this issue.  These mums to be are at a loss at what to do as there is nothing available to them.  I would prefer the baby drop centre over any bus stop any day.  The relevant authorities would still try to find and provide help to these mums, but at least their bubs would be safe until their fate is decided.

Answer 16

I don't think it will make any difference.

If these woman are heartless and desperate enough to just let their baby die on a cold concrete bus shealter floor, then they are not going to go to the trouble of taking the baby somewhere safe.

They obviously don't want people to know who they are. There was another baby dumped in a driveway not long before that.

How they can do such a cruel thing is beyond me.

Answer 17

i dont think they need drop off centres,,, if a mum had any brain she would drop her poor baby off somewhere in a public place like a shopping centre or hospital,, but i do understand the security cameras are everywhere so maybe a milk bar or kinder,,, anywhere but a freakin deserted bus stop,,, .what an @rsehole mother she is xxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 18

doesn't sit well here either

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but hey, better of dropped than dead

Answer 19

I think the idea is disgusting, and I won't want to be paying my taxes on something like that.

If they want to drop the baby somewhere, wouldn't they just take it to the hospital?? Now seriously, aren't they the best people for looking after the children.

They won't take their babies there, and why should we accommodate the very few people who can't hake being parents.

Money would be better off spent on creating an outreach program, that ALL Australian Parents can assess. I know when we had Ryan & Cody, we were basically chucked out of the hospital, and if we wanted help, we had to look for it & it wasn't as simple as checking the phone book.

The idea of Australia becoming like this is sickening. At least where I live people know who has kids, and who doesn't. They would know if one went missing.

Answer 20

It is used in other countries and I think it is a good idea. There have been too many dead babies being dumped lately. If the mother has this option then at least that baby survives. That baby was not discovered for 2 days. That is horrific.

People are opposed. But these woman are dumping their babies as they don't want to be known. They will not walk into a ER to give their baby over. If the chance is there to do it annon.. then they are more likely to do it safely then put the baby to die somewhere undiscovered. These woman are not in their right mind when they do this. They do not want to be known or helped. If they did then they would take the baby to somewhere like the ER. but they don't. I would rather the baby be alive and left in a drop centre than dead in a bag