A birth is considered confidential when the mother gives her identity to the authorities, but it is not revealed publicly.

In Alternative To Baby Boxes, More Hospitals Offer Confidential Births

2023-02-04 11:05:52

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A birth is considered confidential when the mother gives her identity to the authorities, but it is not revealed publicly. Keystone

More hospitals across Switzerland are offering pregnant women the opportunity to give birth in a confidential manner, Keystone-SDA news agency reported on Saturday. The practice, which represents a supervised alternative to baby boxes, is still very rare.

This content was published on February 4, 2023 - 12:35 February 4, 2023 - 12:35

At the beginning of January 2020, the abandonment of a newborn baby in a waste disposal site in Därstetten in canton Bern shocked the public. The infant narrowly escaped death. The mother had given birth alone because she wanted to hide from her partner a pregnancy resulting from an affair with another man.

It is to avoid this kind of drama that confidential deliveries exist. Pregnant women can give birth without the knowledge of their family and friends, while receiving medical care, notes the report. Personal information is kept secret by the hospital and bills for treatment are not sent home. Only the civil registry and the child and adult protection authorities are informed of the birth.

At the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), which offers confidential deliveries, a person who calls the maternity ward or asks to see the mother will be told that she is not hospitalised or known. As for visits to the room, they are made with the patient's permission, according to the hospital's press service.

The young mothers have six weeks to decide whether they want to have the child adopted, as provided for in the Swiss Civil Code. They have a further six weeks to reconsider their decision. When the child reaches the age of majority, he or she can ask about the identity of the biological mother. This right to know one's origins, guaranteed by the Constitution, is not respected by so-called baby boxes, which create an opportunity for infants to be abandoned anonymously.

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