An Indiana nonprofit installed its first baby box, a tool meant to temporarily shelter babies abandoned by their parents, at a fire station in northeastern Indiana last week.
Advocates say the incubators — padded, heated boxes that are rigged to notify emergency personnel when a baby is placed inside — provide parents a safe way to give up their infants without speaking to anyone and would deter parents from leaving babies in the woods or a trash can. But critics have questioned the cost and potential liability associated with using the boxes.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes activated the incubator this week at a fire station in Woodburn, a small city in northeastern Indiana near Fort Wayne. The organization plans to activate its second baby box Thursday at the Cool Spring Fire Department in Michigan City.
"Anything we can do to make that specific situation better," said Wes Rogers, captain at the Cool Spring Fire Department. "We try to do it every day with running our calls, fighting fires and helping sick people. This is just another way to help."
Indiana's Safe Haven Law enables someone to give up an unwanted infant anonymously — without fear of arrest or prosecution. The adult may give up custody of a baby less than 30 days old to a hospital emergency room, fire station or police station.
But despite support in the community for the boxes, some officials were not convinced.
State Department of Health officials wrote a 2½-page report in December that recommended the incubators not be used. They advocated for increasing public awareness of the existing law.
"A team of child health experts ... carefully studied available research on newborn safety incubators and determined that there are no standards or protocols that can ensure the safety of children placed in these devices," Jennifer O'Malley, spokeswoman at the State Department of Health, previously told IndyStar.
Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said the boxes have been tested and improved to address people's concerns. Emergency dispatch is alerted within one minute of a baby being placed inside a box, and the child is removed within five minutes, she said. She said the box automatically locks when a baby is placed inside, so no one else can take the child.
Kelsey works at the Woodburn Fire Department, where the first incubator has been placed.
"We have listened to all the concerns and listened to all the criticisms, and it’s helped us improve the box," she said. "We’ve never lost focus on our goal. It’s to save these babies that are abandoned."
