Since 2014, desperate mothers who want to hide their pregnancies and remain anonymous have been able to give birth to their children “in confidence”. This should make baby hatches superfluous, but they are not yet.
In Berlin, 60 babies were born in so-called confidential births by the end of 2021. This is the result of figures from the Senate Department for Health from 2014, which are available to the German Press Agency.
The number of anonymous births during this period was 29, and 42 infants were placed in baby hatches. “Word of the offer of confidential birth is getting around more and more. In the meantime, many hospitals are also suggesting this option to mothers as an alternative to anonymous birth,” reports Regina Ruhm from the adoption service in Berlin.
Confidential births have been possible in Germany since 2014. The offer is intended to protect desperate mothers and their children alike: During pregnancy and childbirth, mothers can count on medical care. And the women’s anonymity is largely preserved. You can give birth under a pseudonym.
The data of the mothers are deposited with the Federal Office for Family. After their 16th birthday, the children then have the right to know the name of their biological mother. However, they can also remain permanently anonymous if their life or personal freedom would otherwise be threatened.
An advantage for the hospitals is that the federal government covers the costs of the birth. This is not the case with completely anonymous births, explains Ruhm. Medical support during pregnancy is also possible, since the costs are also covered here.
“Confidential birth is the only legal form of giving birth to a child anonymously,” emphasizes the adoption agent. Baby hatches and anonymous births are not legal and are only tolerated.
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The Adoptionsdienst Berlin is a joint project of Diakonie and Caritas and, in addition to the adoption agency of the Senate Department for Family, is responsible for placing the children.
The German Ethics Council had already suggested the possibility of confidential birth in 2009 – also in the hope that baby hatches can be abolished in the long term. But they still exist. There are five hospitals in Berlin: St. Joseph in Tempelhof, Waldfriede in Zehlendorf, Vivantes in Hellersdorf and Neukölln, and the Waldkrankenhaus in Spandau. A total of five babies were placed there last year.