Jikei Hospital was founded in Kumamoto city in 1989 by Father Cole and five sisters dispatched from Rome to care for Hansen’s disease (leprosy) patients. The hospital has departments of obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, pediatrics, and anesthesiology. There were 1,714 births in 2016. Between 2005 and 2006, three newborns were abandoned in Kumamoto Prefecture. In response to the tragical death of two babies, Mr. Hasuda set up “Stork’s Cradle” in 2007 modelled on German “Babyklappen”. It is Japan’s only baby box, and approximately 130 babies have been entrusted thus far. Even though there were some doubts about the legality of a baby box in Japan, the mayor of Kumamoto City agreed to the proposal under the precondition that the baby box would get established at a hospital with regularly employed full-time doctors and nurses.
Once the babies handed over to “Stork’s Cradle”, it is likely that the children will be raised in facilities like infant homes under the jurisdiction of the child consultation center; so the hospital encourages parents consult with them through the interphone and opt for the “special adoption” (the Japanese adoptive system similar to the Western adoption system where adoptive children get registered as regular children of a couple) instead of entrusting babies anonymously. Therefore, when opening the door, parents will find a letter that recommends communication and consultation. If they meet the parents who handed in their babies, they will invite them to a talk inside the hospital and offer consultation about future steps.
Concurrently with the opening of the “Stork’s Cradle”, Jikei set up an “SOS Mother and Baby Consultation Desk”, which offers 24-hour free telephone and e-mail consultation. The number of babies entrusted to Jikei has been continuously decreasing, whereas the demand for counselling is on the rise. In addition, the hospital is considering the introduction of the “confidential birth”.
Japan has about 970,000 births yearly; and about 180,000 abortions are performed annually. The number of child abandonment rose from 27 cases in 2001 to 66 cases in 2007. The number of murders, attempted murders and abandonment immediately after the birth that led to arrest increased from 7 cases in 2007 to 13 in 2013. However, this is probably only the tip of the iceberg of baby murder and abandonment.
The number of babies handed in to the “Stork’s Cradle” has been decreasing. Possible reasons are the low awareness level of the baby box and its location. Kumamoto Prefecture is in the southwestern part of Japan and, therefore, too inconvenient to reach for many people living in other prefectures.
In addition, many other problems are still to be solved. For example, most of the babies still end up in infant homes even though there is a general agreement that they should be placed in foster homes early to promote the development of attachment formation in infancy. Another problem is the lack of disclosure of information on the babies, so it is impossible to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this system. Furthermore, Jikei bears the sole burden of covering the costs of 15 million Yen annually.
Although the support by general public has been increasing since the establishment of “Stork’s Cradle”, the Japanese show much lower interest in the cause compared to other countries. Even though the mass media praises the baby box as a “system to save babies’ lives”, they also voice criticism such as “Right to Know One’s Origins is infringed.”, “It may trigger dangerous home births.” Or even “It does not prevent the abandonment and murder of babies at all.” Despite the repeated requests for help from Kumamoto City, the central government continuously shows a cold shoulder to their pleas.
※This video is excerpted from THE 14th ASIAN CONGRESS OF HEALTH PROMOTION IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN.
| Speaker | ：Takeshi Hasuda |
|---|---|
| Event | ：THE 14th ASIAN CONGRESS OF HEALTH PROMOTION IN KUMAMOTO, JAPAN |
| Date | ：April 15, 2018 |
