Parents reclaim children left at a Basel baby window

A woman returned to the foundation managing a baby window at the Bethesda Spital in Basel, Switzerland, to reclaim a daughter she had previously abandoned.

After the woman placed her newborn daughter in the window in late May, the hospital initiated standard procedures and contacted authorities. However, the mother later contacted the foundation, "Schweizerische Hilfe für Mutter und Kind," to request her child back.

A DNA test confirmed her motherhood, and the child is currently staying with foster parents while authorities evaluate if the mother can provide proper care. The government of Basel-Stadt reported that the baby window system has successfully facilitated family reunifications. Since the window opened at the Bethesda Spital in November 2015, five babies have been left there. Of the first four children placed in the window during the first ten years of operation, three now live with their biological parents.

If the current reunification succeeds, four out of five children from the facility will be living with their families. The Basel government stated that the current setup meets its objectives and sees no need for new local measures or stronger state oversight. However, the government supports a federal discussion on anonymous births in Switzerland. While the country currently offers confidential births where a mother's identity is protected from the public but recorded by authorities, anonymous births are not currently permitted.

The government suggested that anonymous births could increase medical safety for mothers and infants.