Should we maintain baby hatches in our society? Baby hatch policy in Malaysia

Abstract

Every year there is news of newborn babies being abandoned in places like toilets, garbage dumps, sewers, etc. It is believed that the mortality rate of abandoned babies in Malaysia is 70%, which means that for every 10 babies abandoned, only 3 survive. Accordingly, the governance aspect of baby dumping should also be explored, especially in terms of guiding policies to address issues and problems related to baby abandonment in Malaysia. This study, therefore, sought to inform the public about the establishment of a baby hatch, and then obtain input and further information to analyze the requirements for the government to develop a guiding policy for the baby hatch program in Malaysia. The purpose is to explore the policy aspect of using baby hatches as a solution to the problem of baby abandonment. An interview was conducted with the Advocacy and Communications Manager of OrphanCare. From the findings obtained, it appears that in order to address this problem, a support should be given to baby hatches taking into account four elements; Collaboration and cooperation between NGOs and government agencies, awareness programs for target groups, regulatory and legal protection, and, finally, introduce a policy for deinstitutionalization of baby hatches. Thus this is crucial to provide suitable suggestions and policies for planning the next steps to overcome the problem of abandoned babies in the future.