The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) is concerned by the number of babies abandoned after birth in public hospitals.

According to the spokesperson for the Gauteng MEC for Health, Ms Kwara Kekana, 118 babies have been abandoned in various public hospitals this year alone.

Of these 19 were abandoned at Carletonville hospital. This makes our government hospital one of two where the most babies have been abandoned.

Leratong Hospital, the West Rand’s regional hospital, is the other one where babies have been abandoned.

Thirteen babies have also been abandoned at the Far East Rand Hospital, 10 at the Tembisa Hospital and 10 at the Chris  Hani  Baragwanath  Academic Hospital.

Some of the reasons cited for abandoning babies include teenage mothers being fearful of their parents, unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, lack of immediate basic supplies of clothes and toiletries for the mother and new born upon discharge, lack of emotional, financial and social support from the father, and undocumented migrant mothers.

The time spent in hospital by abandoned babies ranges from a week to a month or longer, this depending on the medical condition of the baby, and the time frames for the Hospital Social Workers to facilitate pre-statutory processes for the transfer of the baby to an accredited child protection organization, in terms of the Children’s Act. No. 38 of 2005.  To reduce the number of abandoned babies, hospital social workers conduct educational awareness programmes with expectant mothers on care options such as adoption, temporal care and foster care.   Through networking with child protection organisations, hospital social workers are able to provide mothers at risk for abandonment, with basic material support for both mother and child.

This provides the mother with some immediate means to care for herself and the baby until she can make an informed decision. In instances where the mothers agree to care  for  the  child,  upon  discharge,  she  is  referred  to  a  child  protection  organisation  for further  support  and  care  options. Furthermore,  there  is  improved abandonment ’ identification  of  expectant  and  new  mothers  at ‘ risk  for ;  they  are  referred  by  nurses  to  hospital  social  workers  for  psycho education,  counselling  and other care  options.