Don’t judge moms who dump babies

What does it say about our society that, in 2023 (the last year with available statistics), 250 cases of baby dumping were recorded nationally? Are these mothers heartless or just desperate?

The national social development department says that, in all cases, the dumped babies were found alive and were placed in different shelters, while two of them were reunited with their families.

There could be many reasons why a mother decides to abandon her baby – from poverty, to shame at an unwanted pregnancy, to the possible wrath of a family finding out about her condition.

Avoiding that situation in the first place means improving sex education for girls and empowering them to say no in the all-too-frequent scenarios when they are abused by older men.

Condoms – which can prevent sexually-transmitted disease, as well as reduce the risk of pregnancy – need to be more freely available to single women and girls.

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That may require some traditional morality to be massaged a bit… but the alternative, of seeing babies abandoned, is far more horrifying.

Dr Benita Nel from Childline South Africa says the dumping of children needs to be discouraged and prevented at all costs.

She points out how devastating it must be for a parent or family to get to that stage of desperation where they “do not see a way forward” and dump the child.

She urges people to “talk to family, neighbours and friends to help out and care for the kids. Alternatively, look for a church or children’s facility to assist.”

Babies and children can be left with the police, for example, who will contact social welfare workers to step in and care for the child.

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Most of all, says Nel, admitting you can’t cope is a brave thing. All of us should understand this, too, and be sympathetic, rather than judgmental.