{"id":306893,"date":"2024-02-12T18:39:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T00:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=306893"},"modified":"2024-02-12T18:31:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T00:31:07","slug":"first-infant-surrendered-missouris-baby-box","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/first-infant-surrendered-missouris-baby-box\/","title":{"rendered":"First infant surrendered in Missouri’s only Safe Haven Baby Box"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A baby girl was safely surrendered in a Missouri Safe Haven Baby Box last week \u2014 the first such surrender since the passage of a 2021 state law allowing infant surrenders in baby boxes.<\/p>\n

According to US News<\/a>, the baby girl was placed in the box at a Mehlville Fire District station in St. Louis County. The box was installed in August of 2023. Fire personnel estimated that the girl was several hours old at the time of her surrender; she was taken to a hospital for evaluation and is said to be in good condition.<\/p>\n

The Safe Haven Baby Box organization places temperature-controlled boxes in facilities like fire stations or hospitals around the country. The boxes allow a mother or father who feels unable to parent their child to surrender their child safely and anonymously, per their state’s safe haven law. Once the child is inside, a silent alarm alerts medical personnel and they retrieve the baby within minutes. The baby will later be placed with either a foster or adoptive family, depending on state law.<\/p>\n