A baby was surrendered to the Safe Haven baby box in Monroe County within the last week, making this the county’s first baby to be recovered from the box and the fourth one in the state this year.
The box, at Monroe Fire Protection District, was installed last December. Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said the boxes give parents options and prevent babies from being abandoned in unsafe conditions.
“It's almost a love-hate relationship because, yes, we've saved the life of a child. But now we know that a parent out there felt that she had no other options. And so it is kind of a double-edged sword,” Kelsey said.
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Firefighters were alerted by alarm and retrieved the baby less than a minute after the surrender. The team provided medical care until paramedics took the baby to the hospital for evaluation.
“I am so thankful this parent chose a safe option for their child. We may never know the reason they used this baby box, but we do know how much they loved their infant,” Kelsey said in a statement released Friday.
The baby’s future is undetermined, but Kelsey said a surrendered baby is in good hands.
“These babies are placed with their forever family within 30 days. So, this baby will not linger in foster care,” Kelsey said.
Since the organization was founded in 2015, 141 baby boxes have been installed across the country and 98 are in Indiana.
“Hoosiers have wrapped their arms around this program, and kind of backed up and let us do what we do best,” Kelsey said. “And that is make sure that babies don't end up in dumpsters and trash cans.”
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