Baby Hatch

The NGO called OrphanCARE, associated with Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, launched first ‘baby hatch’ in Malaysia for rescuing unwanted newborns, as authorities battle of increasing cases of baby dumping. Modelled on similar services in Germany, Pakistan and Japan, the NGO says the facility will allow mothers to leave their babies anonymously at its premises in Petaling Jaya, in Malaysia's central Selangor state.


The main motive of this system is to protect babies from unnecessary death and child abuse and also to reduce the number of children growing up in homes by giving them up for adoption to proper deserving families.


The hatch has a small door which opens to an incubator bed on which a mother can place her baby. Once the door is closed, an alarm bell will alert the NGO's staff to the baby's presence, after the mother has left. And also, once the door is closed, it will locked and the mother can’t take back their baby. If they changed mind and wish to get back their baby, they have to approach OrphanCARE Centre themselves and talk to the person in charge.


With the concept, “Every Child needs a family”, OrphanCARE will then find a suitable home for the baby. Parents who interested to adopt a baby can make their application to OrphanCARE by online. The organisation will have a psychologist and other experts to interview the applicants and also lawyers to handle legal matters pertaining to adoption. These prospective parents will give an assurance that there will be no legal repercussions for those who leave their babies at the hatch.


Within 3 months operation, 7 babies dropped off in this baby hatch and 6 of these babies adopted to eligible parents there were carefully selected by OrphanCARE. They planned to open more hatches around the country, but the challenge was that the system of about RM15,000 was too costly.

There pros and cons for the launching of this baby hatch. This system would give desperate mothers an alternative to abandoning or killing their babies. Besides reducing the cases of baby dumping, it help also parents who they are wishing to have a child but can’t get pregnant. It help abandoned baby to find a more suitable growth environment.

But, there are some people said that this baby hatch will encourage premarital sex. Teens will become not scare to get pregnant because it provides a place for them to dump their baby due to their illicit sex. They know that their unwanted baby can get good cares and may find a better family and a better environment by dropping them. Besides that, this baby hatch also encourage parents desert their unwanted babies. In Japan, there were cases that parents misuse this baby hatch, dropped handicap babies into it.

Sekolah Harapan – School for pregnant teens

On 17 Sept 2010, a school for pregnant teens named Sekolah Harapan or School of Hope opened in Jasin, Melaka. The school opened without much fanfare, and no takers yet at the time of open. Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam, who mooted the idea of setting up this school, said the school is open to married and unmarried teens who are pregnant as well as rape victims. RM500,000 had been set aside for the School of Hope to provide free education as well as maternity and delivery care for pregnant teens, whether they are married or not.


Converted from two buildings owned by Air Melaka Berhad, the school, which is equipped with a hostel, is managed by the Malacca Islamic Affairs Council. The school located on a scenic hilltop outside the tourist town of Malacca, which can take up to 40 students including 20 at its residential hostel. The public was not allowed to enter the school, and the identity of the students was confidential.


Chairman Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim said that the students would attend regular classes for standard examination subjects during the day and be taught handicraft and parenting skills in the evening by female trained educators. The mothers-to-be would be taught the standard secondary school syllabus. After their delivery and confinement period, they will return to their normal schools.


Some Muslim commentators have complained that Sekolah Harapan or “School of Hope” will only encourage premarital sex. But Abdul Rahman defended the school as a practical strategy to combat the rising numbers of abandoned infants — often dumped dead or dying in the streets or on rubbish dumps in cases that have shocked Malaysians.


On 19 Sept 2010, 2 days after the school opened, 5 pregnant teenagers have enrolled in and become the first batch students. The students, aged 16 and 17, from Malacca, Johor, the Federal Territory, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, registered with the companies of their parents. Four of them will be in Form 5 and another one in Form 4.

Situation 3 - Insufficient Education System

It is undeniable that baby dumping has been a growing concern among the society. Whether through mouth to mouth conversation to news broadcasted in every corner of the country, baby dumping had become the most pressing issue talked and debated among civilians and concerned parents. What had actually gone wrong? Is this the current social norm that we had subconsciously adopted, or that we simply wouldn’t care that such things are happening before our eyes, casting ignorant glances and pointing fingers at the other party?

Education, whether formal or informal, had become the source of knowledge and information in our daily life especially during our adolescence years. The lack of education is one of the majoring factors that contributed to the rise of this phenomenon. Students as young as secondary school are most susceptible to the curiosity of exploring the opposite sex. The lack of sex education does not help them in understanding the opposite sex when instead they would innocently adopt unprotected sex in their schooling days. This would lead to unwanted pregnancy and inexperience in handling this sort of situation. Consequently this would result in baby dumping.

Earlier this year, opinions and debates were brought up whether we should introduce sex education in school syllabus. However, parties involved in the debate had taken the stance and move on with the old syllabus, concerning that whether the conservative social norm would able to accept this kind of education being taught in schools. Aspects and areas of human body are rigidly and conservatively taught in biology without painting a clear picture of the consequences of unprotected sex to the students. Students knew that they should not be involved in sexual activities but they do not know how to cope with it should such unwanted cases happen. Without proper support and formal education, they would not know the correct way of managing their emotions and thus could result in baby dumping. Research from US showed that children as young as the age of 8 are the best years in knowing about sex and the opposite sex. This statement had opened a point of view whether sex education should be implemented in schools, perhaps breaking the barrier of the conservative mindset of the nation where such issue should be addressed openly.

Besides that, informal education where enforcement of sex education from parents and relatives are at utmost important in addressing this issue too. However, many cases occur where parents themselves are too embarrassed to talk about this topic to their own children. For instance, parents giving birth out-of wedlock would most probably be too embarrassed to talk about this issue to their children. Although they would never like their children to follow their footsteps, but the fear of bringing the same thing out is just too intense, leaving them untruthful information about sex and unwanted pregnancy. There are articles and survey done that, adolescents and teenagers learn about sex through pornography and exaggerated information about sexual intercourse through internet and obscene magazines. Hence, this would definitely lead to adolescents and teenagers having sex at a very young age and result in baby dumping when unwanted pregnancy happened.

To sum up everything, education whether it is informal or formal plays a vital role in educating adolescents and teenagers about sexual intercourse and most importantly the consequences of baby dumping. Cold hard facts are taught through biology, but students nowadays are lack of the moral approach of baby dumping, which I believe is only touched at the very surface. Education as well as counseling should be done more thoroughly and the emotional state of teenagers should not be neglected. In short, education plays an important role in forming the self-concepts and perspectives of adolescents about unprotected sexual intercourse and most importantly the consequences of baby dumping.

Research Question 2

What is the mental state of mother having conceived a child that is not socially sanctioned?


Just as many perceived about the wrongdoings and the for some religions, baby dumping cases were seen as a sin. One may ask, why would the mothers of the babies do it? How would the mothers feel to give birth to a child who is not socially sanctioned or acceptable to the society? Looking at the mothers' perspectives, how could nine months of carriage when mothers who had developed this maternal bond with their baby decides to throw away their flesh and blood in their stomach? there are times where throwing a child needs great courage. they may be burdened with the fear of taking care of the child, financially unstable, and not ready to hold up responsibilities.

Strictly Femail, one oldest surviving private newspaper in Nigeria conducted a vox survey asking women from different walks of life reasons some mothers abandon their babies. Some of the excerpts are as belows:

Omotolani Fatola, medical practitioner: -  Women have different reasons for abandoning their babies. It could be that they were not married, it might be that somebody impregnates them and refuses to  take responsibility of the child, it could probably be because of poverty.

Although it is not right; to them, they have a reason. Some other women abandon their babies because they are not ready for them in the first place; they might have conceived them by mistake when they are teenagers. You can imagine a girl of 13 years  getting pregnant, she  wouldn’t want her parents to know, she could run off to a relative for a cover and after  delivery, she either throws it away or abandons it.

Olamide Daise, student: - I think women abandon their babies because they have no money to take care of them. Sometimes, the pregnancies are unwanted; some don’t have fathers to claim the children, while  to others, their parents would be too embarrassed if they give birth to a fatherless child.

Janet Gabriel, lawyer : Women abandon their babies for so many reasons. First, because the pregnancy is sudden and they don’t have means of livelihood. Second, they simply don’t want to be responsible; they feel the child is just a kind of burden to them.

Juliana Festus, banker: - Personally, I believe the only reason a woman can abandon her baby is in a case of  rape. The woman might not be able to keep the baby because of shame and the fact that it might be a source of pain to her in the future whenever she remembers her ordeal; to  love and care for such child would be difficult. She might, however, decide to abandon the baby, hoping that it may get someone to love and care for him/her.

Ayo Ajayi, teacher: Women who abandon their babies are shameless and wicked. How would you conceive a child for nine months and later dispose it? Some people, out of pretence, say that they didn’t know they were pregnant until it matures to a stage they wouldn’t  be able to abort it; this is a lie, an unpardonable lie. How would you not know you were pregnant and why not protect yourself or abstain in the first place? Didn’t they know that 99 per cent of unprotected sex leads to pregnancy? Some have looked for children for many years without any, yet some are busy abandoning theirs. They should be thankful to God because He is merciful, if not, I would say some people don’t really deserve any child at all. This action is borne out of human wickedness and anybody who does it deserves to be hanged.

Seyi Sokefun, student: – Personally, I feel any woman who abandons a baby is heartless. Why go through nine months of pregnancy and eventually dump the child? Why not abort it from the start? Imagine  the stress and pains during pregnancy, are these not  enough to love and care for the baby? I just can’t imagine doing something like that; it is totally wrong in the sight of God and He  will not forgive anyone that is involved in such act.

Giveth Onaviaye,youth corps member: Women should not have any reason to abandon their babies. Any woman who does that is either insane or useless. She must be put in the asylum for immediate medical treatment. For no reason should any woman, no matter what condition, abandon her baby  If they can endure the nine month of pregnancy and watch the child grow, then, I don’t think it is sensible to abandon it later.

Ogunbanjo Margaret: To me, I think any woman who  abandons her baby is a disgrace to motherhood. Such a woman must be a prostitute or a very irresponsible being. I see no reason under the sun that will prompt a woman to do such a wicked thing.

Olusegun Olugbesan, medical practitioner: Well, women abandon their babies most times based on ignorance and poverty. Some women are not  aware that they are pregnant  until it has passed terminating stage, so they wait till when they deliver the baby and then,  abandon it.

Some just don’t have the means of taking care of such babies, so they dump them for those people who are in need.

Titi Alabi, fashion designer: I don’t blame women who abandon their babies beacause they would certainly have their reasons. Imagine a pregnancy you didn’t plan for and you don’t have the money to sustain yourself not to talk of the baby. We are all human beings, we make mistakes.

Titilayo Popoola, beautician:  Personally, I think any woman who abandons her baby is probably callous. If you don’t have money or you are not ready for a child, why have sex? Is it not better if such women terminate the babies at the initial stage or stay away completely from sex?

Sex is for mature people who know what they are doing and can take responsibility for their actions. Yes, we all know abortion is murder, but how many abandoned babies would be found eventually? Remember those who do these things go to any length. Who knows how many lives have been lost on dunghills, or flushed in the toilet?

James Nwankwo, cleric: Any woman who aborts or abandons a child is a murderer and it is a grevious sin against God and mankind. These are  sins crying to God for vengeance. I know many couples that had waited on the Lord for many years, yet no fruit of the womb. Some have given up hope and many homes are on the verge of breaking up because of this, yet some abandon their babies. What an irony of life! There should be no reason for a woman to neglect her child, even if she was raped. What people don’t know is that there is no pregnancy that is a mistake, God is interested in any sexual act you undertake, he might want to plant a glorious child in the union. Why destroy God’s plan and waste life and, most importantly, why test God by involving in unprotected sex? It is easy to have sex, but people are not ready to bear the consequences. I think women should think twice before they engage in this act, children are gifts from God.

Rosemary Daniel, accountant: It is not right  for any woman to abandon her baby. Some women hide under the fact that they are poor.

There are preventions to take in order not to get pregnant, in fact,  medical practi-tioners advise women on family planning in the hospitals; there are condoms and other preventive measures you can choose.  It is a wicked act to carry a child for nine months and throw it away.

What if somebody finds that child and he/she becomes a hero or  a superstar  in the future, or what if the child is your only helper and what if the child is the one destined for you in life? That is why I don’t pity some who are looking for children later in life; who knows what they have done when they were young?

above excerpts are some snippets of views of different people pertaining this concerned issue. 

Increasing Phenomenon of Baby Dumping

From year 2005 to 2010, 472 cases of baby dumping have been found and recorded.

Year	Number of Case
2005	67
2006	83
2007	76
2008	102
2009	79
2010 (Jan – 16 Aug)	65
Total	472

In these 472 cases, 214 babies were found alive and 258 babies were found dead.


So far this year from January till August 16th, 26 out of 65 dumped babies were boys, 25 were girls and another 14 were foetuses


(Source : Atikah Dali. 2010. Gejala buang bayi meningkat. Kosmo!. 17-08-2010.)

Situation 2 - New Social Trend

At this day of age, it is very common to see school students being in relationship and having couples. Students seem to see it as a trend or a new way of socialism amongst students or commonly called the hendonistic culture. A recent observation carried out in shopping malls revealed that school teenagers were seen to play truant and holding hands with another partner of their opposite sex in public areas. This could be due to peer pressure that happened in other countries. for instance, students might succumb to the thought and thrill of having sex as being pressure by peers who experienced the sexual intercourse at a very young age. Afraid of being cast away from the "in" group, they might perform sexual intercourse with someone, or worse still, rape. though this is not an unusual phenomenon in local institutes of study, such issue should not be ignored or swept under the rug for every step of negligence might lead for further unwanted implications.


They are even cases whereby some sexual obscenity act were videotaped when teenagers who are sexually aroused carry out the activities in public places such as theme park, under the bridges, beaches, and even in school compound. Such an act is seen to paint a very grim and disturbing picture of the increasing crime index trend involving rape to the eyes public, influencing peers, and depicting negative impact to the society today.


Just as the family institution crashed, the society today are more open-minded and living in current permissive society. It points out that the culture has changed and parents, educationists, authorities, and policy-makers also have to change their mindset to keep up and deal with the new social trends. Religions passed from generations were weakened, and in many instances, teenagers indulging in a relationship because they believe that their partners truly love them and mistakenly thought affection as love. Such things do happen, whereby a case of a teenager, who is aware of her culture and belief in her religion, give in to her boyfriend just to garner his partner's love. These are all riddled issues that can be rather argumentative to talk about. But nonetheless, they regret afterwards towards their actions.


However, this does not always happens to all. Some teenagers carry out sex on love basis. When pregnancy occurs, a new level of life has to be held. teenagers have to learn to hold up responsibilities. The truth is, a majority of teenage mothers who were unmarried, or give birth to child out-of-wedlock are facing large issues of facing extremely high probability of long-term poverty and welfare dependence.

Research Question 2

What is the mental state of the mother having to conceive a child that is not socially sanctioned?

Just as many perceived about the wrongdoings and for some religions, baby dumping cases were seen as a sin. One may ask, why would the mothers of the babies do it? How would the mothers feel to give birth to a child who is not socially sanctioned or acceptable to the society? Looking at the mothers' perspectives, how could nine months of carriage when mothers who had developed this maternal bond with their baby decides to throw away their flesh and blood in their stomach? The stress and pains during pregnancy, are these insufficient to love and care for the baby? In fact, there are times where throwing a child needs great courage. The mother of the child may be in callous state. They may be burdened with the fear of taking care of the child, financially unstable, and not ready to hold up responsibilities.

Strictly Femail, one oldest surviving private newspaper in Nigeria conducted a vox survey asking women from different walks of life reasons some mothers abandon their babies. Some of the excerpts are as belows:

Omotolani Fatola, medical practitioner: - Women have different reasons for abandoning their babies. It could be that they were not married, it might be that somebody impregnates them and refuses to take responsibility of the child, it could probably be because of poverty.

Although it is not right; to them, they have a reason. Some other women abandon their babies because they are not ready for them in the first place; they might have conceived them by mistake when they are teenagers. You can imagine a girl of 13 years getting pregnant, she wouldn’t want her parents to know, she could run off to a relative for a cover and after delivery, she either throws it away or abandons it.

Olamide Daise, student: - I think women abandon their babies because they have no money to take care of them. Sometimes, the pregnancies are unwanted; some don’t have fathers to claim the children, while to others, their parents would be too embarrassed if they give birth to a fatherless child.

Janet Gabriel, lawyer : Women abandon their babies for so many reasons. First, because the pregnancy is sudden and they don’t have means of livelihood. Second, they simply don’t want to be responsible; they feel the child is just a kind of burden to them.

Juliana Festus, banker: - Personally, I believe the only reason a woman can abandon her baby is in a case of rape. The woman might not be able to keep the baby because of shame and the fact that it might be a source of pain to her in the future whenever she remembers her ordeal; to love and care for such child would be difficult. She might, however, decide to abandon the baby, hoping that it may get someone to love and care for him/her.

Ayo Ajayi, teacher: Women who abandon their babies are shameless and wicked. How would you conceive a child for nine months and later dispose it? Some people, out of pretence, say that they didn’t know they were pregnant until it matures to a stage they wouldn’t be able to abort it; this is a lie, an unpardonable lie. How would you not know you were pregnant and why not protect yourself or abstain in the first place? Didn’t they know that 99 per cent of unprotected sex leads to pregnancy? Some have looked for children for many years without any, yet some are busy abandoning theirs. They should be thankful to God because He is merciful, if not, I would say some people don’t really deserve any child at all. This action is borne out of human wickedness and anybody who does it deserves to be hanged.

Seyi Sokefun, student: – Personally, I feel any woman who abandons a baby is heartless. Why go through nine months of pregnancy and eventually dump the child? Why not abort it from the start? Imagine the stress and pains during pregnancy, are these not enough to love and care for the baby? I just can’t imagine doing something like that; it is totally wrong in the sight of God and He will not forgive anyone that is involved in such act.

Giveth Onaviaye,youth corps member: Women should not have any reason to abandon their babies. Any woman who does that is either insane or useless. She must be put in the asylum for immediate medical treatment. For no reason should any woman, no matter what condition, abandon her baby If they can endure the nine month of pregnancy and watch the child grow, then, I don’t think it is sensible to abandon it later.

Ogunbanjo Margaret: To me, I think any woman who abandons her baby is a disgrace to motherhood. Such a woman must be a prostitute or a very irresponsible being. I see no reason under the sun that will prompt a woman to do such a wicked thing.

Olusegun Olugbesan, medical practitioner: Well, women abandon their babies most times based on ignorance and poverty. Some women are not aware that they are pregnant until it has passed terminating stage, so they wait till when they deliver the baby and then, abandon it.

Some just don’t have the means of taking care of such babies, so they dump them for those people who are in need.

Titi Alabi, fashion designer: I don’t blame women who abandon their babies beacause they would certainly have their reasons. Imagine a pregnancy you didn’t plan for and you don’t have the money to sustain yourself not to talk of the baby. We are all human beings, we make mistakes.

Titilayo Popoola, beautician: Personally, I think any woman who abandons her baby is probably callous. If you don’t have money or you are not ready for a child, why have sex? Is it not better if such women terminate the babies at the initial stage or stay away completely from sex?

Sex is for mature people who know what they are doing and can take responsibility for their actions. Yes, we all know abortion is murder, but how many abandoned babies would be found eventually? Remember those who do these things go to any length. Who knows how many lives have been lost on dunghills, or flushed in the toilet?

James Nwankwo, cleric: Any woman who aborts or abandons a child is a murderer and it is a grevious sin against God and mankind. These are sins crying to God for vengeance. I know many couples that had waited on the Lord for many years, yet no fruit of the womb. Some have given up hope and many homes are on the verge of breaking up because of this, yet some abandon their babies. What an irony of life! There should be no reason for a woman to neglect her child, even if she was raped. What people don’t know is that there is no pregnancy that is a mistake, God is interested in any sexual act you undertake, he might want to plant a glorious child in the union. Why destroy God’s plan and waste life and, most importantly, why test God by involving in unprotected sex? It is easy to have sex, but people are not ready to bear the consequences. I think women should think twice before they engage in this act, children are gifts from God.

Rosemary Daniel, accountant: It is not right for any woman to abandon her baby. Some women hide under the fact that they are poor.

There are preventions to take in order not to get pregnant, in fact, medical practi-tioners advise women on family planning in the hospitals; there are condoms and other preventive measures you can choose. It is a wicked act to carry a child for nine months and throw it away.

What if somebody finds that child and he/she becomes a hero or a superstar in the future, or what if the child is your only helper and what if the child is the one destined for you in life? That is why I don’t pity some who are looking for children later in life; who knows what they have done when they were young?

above excerpts are views and opinions extracted from different respondents.