For more information contact:
Sue Larson
Director of OB/GYN
715-735-4200, ext. 4049

(Marinette, Wis.) – A mother, or a person acting with the mother’s permission, may confidentially leave their unharmed newborn at BAMC without threat of legal action rather than abandoning the child in an unsafe place.

Because of Wisconsin law, Bay Area Medical Center can legally and safely accept newborns that would otherwise be in danger of abandonment.

“It gives mothers another choice rather than choosing to leave their newborn in an unsafe place,” explains Sue Larson, director of OB/GYN services at BAMC. “These are tragic cases that result in choices made in a moment of desperation.”

In 2000, more than 100 newborns under the age of three-days-old were abandoned across the United States in ditches, toilets, trashcans, rivers and other hazardous places. Forty-seven of these children did not survive. A Wisconsin law provides these parents an alternative with no questions asked and no prosecutions made. If the newborn is three-days-old or less and unharmed it can be brought to BAMC and the mother or person acting in the mother’s behave has:

• the right to remain anonymous
• may be given information the hospital deems important
• and must not be followed or detained. No police will be called.

Child abandonment is a crime. With this program, participating hospitals across the state agree to receive the newborn, provide any needed medical care and will protect the identity of the person.

Sue Larson goes on to explain, “We are not reinventing the wheel with this program but simply building a bridge between the resources available in our community to a mother who may need them.”
January is the highest month of newborn abandonment in Wisconsin. It is a tragedy that crosses all categories of age, ethnicity and social economics status. If anyone has questions about this program, please call Sue Larson at Bay Area Medical Center: 715-735-4200 ext 4049.

For the Editor:

Bay Area Medical Center is a 99-bed general acute care hospital located in Northeast Wisconsin. It includes a community primary/secondary care hospital, a 71,100 sq.-ft. outpatient surgery center, a primary care physician joint venture, and a radiation oncology joint venture. BAMC offers select, advanced medical services, with an emphasis on diagnostic radiology, rehabilitation services, ambulatory surgery, obstetrics, cancer treatment and urgent care. BAMC earned full accreditation for January 2003 through January 2006 by the Joint Commission on HealthCare Organizations.