The number of children abandoned at birth is continuously increasing in Romania. The counties most affected by this dramatic phenomenon are also the poorest in the country. Neonatologists say that the main cause cited by mothers is the lack of material goods, the impossibility of raising them.
Many children are abandoned in the Maternity Hospital PHOTO The truth
A dramatic phenomenon is gaining momentum, especially in maternity hospitals in the poor counties of Romania. More and more newborns are effectively abandoned in the maternity ward. Mostly, the mothers who abandon their children are women from poor families and without elementary notions of health education or sex education. Statistics confirm this grim reality. Around 9000 children are abandoned, per year, in Romania. Some in maternity, others in hospitals or, simply, given to the state because they cannot be supported by the family. Under these conditions, Romania ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of abandoned children. The specialist in neonatology, Carmen Zaboloteanu, from the Botoșani Maternity Hospital, says that the number of children abandoned annually is constantly increasing in the northern Moldavian county. “There are more abandoned children than in previous years. Mothers say they cannot raise the child, citing medical or social reasons“, says Carmen Zaboloteanu.
“Poverty is an invoked problem”
“There are cases where the mother simply leaves the child in the maternity ward and leaves. In most cases, she informs the staff about her decision, and most of the time the reason cited is poverty. She confesses that she has nothing to raise him with. Many times or does not have a home or sources of income. There are also cases where the child is born in a concubinage relationship, and the mother does not have the certainty that she will have a family to raise him in. The economic conditions are invoked it doesn’t help them to be able to raise that child. They don’t have a home, they don’t have income, they don’t have conditionsi”, says Carmen Zaboloteanu. The highlight, a characteristic of mothers who abandon their children at maternity, at least in Botoșani county, is the fact that they already have several children at home. Some are not at the first dropout. “There are mothers who still have children at home, in care. And one of the reasons is that they can’t take care of one more. Moreover, they come from families that also have other children in foster care. And that raises a question mark”adds Carmen Zaboloteanu.
Women without any sex education
The question arises, why do they conceive children, if they don’t want them or can’t support them? Specialists say it is about the lack of any form of health education or sex education. We can’t even talk about family planning. In other words, they do not protect themselves during sexual intercourse, nor do they pose a problem. Although it seems hard to believe, methods of contraception are completely foreign to them. “They have no knowledge of family planning or notions of sex education. And that’s a problem“, adds Carmen Zaboloteanu. In addition, they live in disadvantaged, often hostile environments, with abusive partners in cohabiting relationships. Very often, fathers do not take responsibility.
In all cases, the pregnancy is not monitored, with women arriving at the hospital only when they give birth. There are also those who would like the child but do not keep it because they are afraid of the reaction of the concubine, of the parents, or actually because of poverty. At that moment, the Maternity specialists convince them not to abandon the child and to seek the support of a maternity center. “We urge them not to abandon their child. If we notice that they really want it, we encourage them to transfer to the Materna Centerl”, adds Carmen Zaboloteanu.
Tens of thousands of children in the care of the state
If the child is abandoned in the maternity ward, specialists from the General Directorate of Social Assistance are notified. Initially, a social investigation is done, including in the family that abandoned their child. Then, if there is no chance of integration into the family, the little one is placed in the care of foster carers. According to the statistics of the National Adoption Authority, over 40,000 children are in the care of the state, most of them abandoned by their parents. Poverty is the main reason.
