Anonyme Geburt

There are always cases in which women do not admit to themselves or their environment that they are pregnant out of necessity. Or they don't want to seek help for fear of the pregnancy being revealed. Reasons for this can be that underage women are afraid of their parents or massive violence by their partner, women live illegally in Germany, women are homeless, women are put under pressure by extreme cultural or ideological constraints or find themselves in an emergency situation that seems hopeless. The anonymous surrender of a child is a serious decision for every mother, which is only considered in a completely hopeless situation.

In order to prevent knee-jerk reactions, such as abandonment or killing of the child, so-called "baby hatches" or the possibility of an anonymous birth have been set up in several places. The principle is always absolute anonymity and confidentiality.

What is the difference between baby hatch and anonymous birth?

At the baby flap (also called "baby window", "baby basket" or similar), a newborn can be handed in anonymously. It slides into a warming bed, where the immediate care of the child is ensured by means of an electronic signal. However, no one cares about the mother. She is on her own both medically and with her problems.

The anonymous birth takes place like a "normal" clinical birth, but without the woman giving birth telling the maternity hospital her identity. Child and mother receive medical care. If necessary, the mother can still receive advice and support in her decision at the hospital if she wishes. She is safe from pressure from other people.

In both cases, the biological mother has the option of providing information about the child's origin without revealing her own name. In terms of notarization, the child is treated as a person with an uncertain civil status according to § 26 of the Civil Status Act. After that, the competent administrative authority (district, district-free city) determines which place of birth and date of birth as well as which first and last name are to be entered in the birth register by the registry office.

In the case of an anonymous birth and also in the case of the baby hatch, the child is first given medical care. At the same time, the Youth Welfare Office and the staff of the baby hatch will ensure suitable accommodation and care for the child - independently in the case of an anonymous birth. Finally, the child is placed in what is known as adoption care. That is, the child comes to a suitable family that wants to adopt him.

Information can be obtained from a counselling centre in your area or by calling www.schwanger-info.de.

In addition, there is a free emergency telephone for pregnant women and mothers with newborns in need, which is available nationwide free of charge around the clock at the number

 0800-456 0 789

achievable.

There are a number of places that can help in the run-up to the birth. In particular, the nationwide pregnancy and pregnancy conflict counselling centres offer immediate free advice and support and information about material and psychological help in emergencies. They guarantee anonymity and can therefore be visited without hesitation. The individual baby hatch operators also provide advice and help themselves, as they see the use of the baby hatch as the last option to place a child in safe care.