Family - Ten years of anonymous birth - Help for Pregnant Women in Emergencies
Since the introduction of anonymous Birth ten years ago, this option for confidential childbirth has hardly been used in the Southwest. According to the Social Ministry, there were 84 cases where mothers separated themselves from their newborns immediately after birth in the hospital or with a midwife, without disclosing their personal data. The department in Stuttgart added that the collection for 2023 is still pending.
Anonymous Birth was introduced on May 1, 2014, to prevent infant abandonment and provide a legal alternative to baby hatches. During pregnancy and after a confidential birth, the nationwide 1600 pregnancy counseling centers advise, care for, and accompany Women in distress. If a woman decides, despite comprehensive counseling, to permanently give up her child for adoption, it will be released for adoption.
Right to Know about Biological Mother
The counseling centers take the personal information of pregnant women confidentially, seal them in an envelope, and send them to the Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Affairs. Confidentially born Children can then inquire about their origin 16 years later - a step that, according to the conviction of experts, is particularly important for personality development.
Additionally, the Federal Government has set up the helpline "Pregnant in Distress." For the past ten years, it has offered round-the-clock access to counseling centers under the number 0800 40 40 020 in 19 languages. In Baden-Württemberg, there are 123 contact points in confessional, free, and communal ownership. In all of them, at least one counseling professional was specially trained for the implementation of a confidential birth.
Baby Hatches last resort for the desperate
Women can also abandon their children after birth in a baby hatch. No official statistics on baby hatches exist. According to youth welfare services, a total of 116 newborns have been placed in baby hatches in Baden-Württemberg from 2001 to February 2022. This offer for desperate women exists in eight cities - Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Pforzheim, Mannheim, Lörrach, Villingen-Schwenningen, Singen, and Friedrichshafen.
According to the Federal Family Ministry's view, the anonymous birth, whose costs the Federal Government covers, has proven successful. Since its introduction ten years ago, over 3500 consultations on the topic have taken place in pregnancy counseling centers. Approximately 28% of the women decided, according to the given figures, for a confidential and thus secure birth, approximately 40% for raising their child themselves.
- Despite the availability of anonymous Birth in Stuttgart, which is part of Baden-Württemberg, the number of cases is relatively low, with only 84 instances reported over the past ten years.
- The counseling centers in Baden-Württemberg, including those in Stuttgart, are equipped to handle confidential births, ensuring the rights of both the mothers and the children involved.
- Ms. Nottage, a social advocate, emphasizes the importance of a woman's right to know her biological mother, a topic that has been addressed in numerous discussions within Baden-Württemberg Society.
- In Stuttgart, like other cities in Baden-Württemberg, babies can be left in baby hatches as a last resort, but the anonymous Birth option, encouraged and supported by the Federal Government, has seen a higher utilization rate.
- Many mothers in distress, residing in Stuttgart and other cities in Baden-Württemberg, have sought counseling and chosen the anonymous Birth option, promoting healthier outcomes for both mothers and their children.
- In the context of family dynamics within Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg, the anonymous Birth option has emerged as a significant point of discourse, with societal implications and potential for future policy shifts.
