NURSING UP LAZIO
The Union of Nurses and Health Professionals
Cell. 347/5871031 www.nursinguplazio.it – mail: regionalelazio.nursingup@gmail.com
Dear all
Subject: Newborn left in the "cradle for life" at Easter and the right to anonymous childbirth. The story of the little human, left at the Mangiagalli, has stirred up a hornet's nest.
Among the serial commentators, keyboard heroes, who evidently, without any real understanding, judge the action of the mother who left the little one at the Mangiagalli. The problem that worries me, my fellow nurses, pediatric nurses, and midwives, is the risk of nullifying years of "pro-life," "anonymous childbirth" campaigns.
First of all, it's time to use the correct terms, which journalists often forget or omit: the child was not "abandoned," in the sense that the child was not left without help, protection, or assistance. The child was "entrusted," handed over to the care, protection, and guarantees of all the healthcare staff.
Children left in the care of healthcare workers are usually "showered" with cuddles! A midwife colleague, with whom I often discuss, writes to me: "I feel sick at the thought that this woman is being subjected to public shaming."
Needless to say, I feel the same way. Some, even among celebrities, do not realize the possible consequences of the words of people like Ezio Greggio and others.
The campaign for anonymous childbirth was created to save children, rather than having to find them abandoned in a dumpster, in the best cases saved, but often found dead... not to mention those never found. I would like to say, to those people who judge women who give birth anonymously, allowing sterile parents to exercise their love for a non-biological child. The step made public by the news should not be judged, this step is difficult, but no one should dare to judge.
It is easy to set oneself up as a judge, to point the finger at a mother who makes this difficult choice, that is, to leave her own child in the hospital! ...but nothing is done at a social level to prevent these things from happening.
In Lazio, for example, the counseling centers that could provide information and training to women, for conscious parenting, have been left to die! In recent years, according to the latest data, there are 135 counseling centers left, but lacking staff! Many counseling centers lack midwives, who for the Lazio region should be two for each center, but in Lazio, it happens that there is one midwife for every two centers.
Who provides training and information to women, including foreign women? It is good and right to help those new mothers (and there are many) who wish to save the little human being. Undoubtedly, life has an inestimable value and must be protected at every moment.
In our hospitals it is possible to give birth anonymously and immediately relinquish the child, who will be entrusted as soon as possible to a family that will love them unconditionally. This is a life choice, of unconditional love! The problem with the risk of tragic outcomes could more easily arise in home births, far from healthcare professionals, such as midwives, doctors, and nurses.
It is a duty for all healthcare professionals, but also ordinary citizens, to inform that if a child is born at home, or if the decision to abandon them is made after birth, it is not necessary to "throw them away," that creature is not at fault and has the right to live, we must suggest entrusting them to safe hands.
The key words, the reason why we do not appreciate the great fuss of these days, are "guaranteed privacy" and "no one will judge you"! Anyone who wants to relinquish the child can do so in the hospital, in the case of hospital birth, but can also use the "cradles for life," those cradles we once called the "wheel of the exposed."
Women can entrust their child to the care and assistance of healthcare staff, without being seen and/or recognized; the "cradles for life" are present in many Italian cities. In the areas where it is possible to leave children, the cameras do not allow mothers to be filmed, the camera's visibility is aimed exclusively at the cradle, whose purpose is to prevent identifying who abandons the child.
Bringing the child to the Cradle is not a crime as the same regulations as hospital abandonment apply. The child will receive immediate assistance and the Juvenile Court will be immediately notified, which will arrange for the adoption of the newborn after ten days.
The cradles were created out of the need to prevent children from being thrown in the trash or entrusted to ill-intentioned people. Perhaps too little has been invested in the culture of welcoming life and respecting it, a choice that should have remained anonymous, but has become public knowledge, due to the message of certain individuals and the director of neonatology who invites the mother to reconsider.
All this talk about the last child left at the Mangiagalli risks nullifying even the little that has been invested, culturally, in anonymous childbirth! These days, all this talk risks worrying women who find themselves in difficulty, making them feel at risk of judgment, fearing for their privacy.
Of course, many talk about the sense of guilt that a mother might feel, who has left her child in the hospital, but who can tell anyone, since it is allowed by law! Imagine, if as a result of these words, a woman, hoping to protect herself, decides to throw her child in a dumpster! If the newborn is found dead, the woman risks imprisonment, ...in any case, the sense of guilt will always be stronger, knowing that the child was entrusted to the loving care of parents deprived of the joy of a child.
As long as anonymous childbirth and/or entrusting the child to healthcare facilities is possible, the cradles can save many children. Let us remember that every year, about three hundred newborns are given up for adoption. I prefer three hundred living newborns, not one less, rather than waging psychological war on a woman who has problems we know nothing about.
70% of healthcare staff are women and we study to protect life, but also women! Many colleagues point out to me that the father is absent, that he has the right to be forgotten, while the mother has no rights! If we decided to leave a child, we would not want all this. We believe, as healthcare professionals, that it is a terrible attitude to read on social media, in the mass media, headlines about the choice to leave a child, as well as the child's name and random judgments, as well as part of the text of our possible letter, splashed out mercilessly, ...as if that were not enough, the head physician adds that our possible choice is a defeat, for the whole country that would not have known how to listen to our cry of pain. ...but who allows him to express such judgments?
The flaunting of this choice/opportunity is not a great show of civilization and could cause the nullification of the choice of an anonymous mother, which has been handled like the launch of a commercial product.
Many colleagues are worried, especially midwives, used to creating a confidential relationship with new mothers; we fear and would not be surprised if the next mothers, perhaps frightened by the possible uproar, decide to abandon a newborn in a dumpster.
Rome, 11.04.2023
Regional Manager Nursing Up Lazio
Laura Rita Santoro
