OAKVILLE, Mo. — A safe place for parents to drop off their babies if they cannot take care of them is now available in St. Louis as Missouri’s first Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled Tuesday at Mehlville Fire Protection District Station 2.
The Safe Haven Baby Box is a secured incubator equipped with a nursery bed, heating and air conditioning that is accessible to parents who are unable to take care of their babies. They can surrender their child anonymously.
Mehlville Fire Chief Brian Hendricks told Spectrum News that Missouri has had safe haven laws for 20 years, but this new baby box provides an anonymous piece.
“They don’t want to come knock on a firehouse door and say, ‘Here, take my baby.’ They’re afraid they’re going to be judged. They’re afraid that people are going to think negatively of them,” Hendricks said.
“And that’s not what this is about. This is about giving them an option with no judgment to be able to safely surrender their babies to us.”
Baby boxes are installed on an exterior wall of fire stations and hospitals with an exterior door that automatically locks upon placement of a newborn. An interior door on the other side allows medical staff to retrieve the baby.
“I think this is important as a last resort option,” Oakville resident Jeannine Sinak said. “This is just an option that (a mother) can choose life for the child and not abandon it, as we hear in the news sometimes, in the back of a park,(or) you know in a dumpster. She can choose life for the child in a safe, safe way.”
Sinak is with Respect Life Apostolate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
“There are so many families longing to adopt a child, so it could just be a win-win situation. A hard situation for a woman can turn into a wonderful joy for another family,” she said.
The latest baby box at Mehlville Fire Station 2 is the 157th nationwide and was paid for by Bob Gau, who brought the idea to State Rep. Jim Murphy.
Monica Kelsey, Safe Haven Baby Box founder/CEO, shared that her biological mom was raped at 17 years old and had abandoned her shortly after giving birth.
“I stand on the frontlines of this movement as one of these kids that wasn’t lovingly, and safely, and anonymously placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box,” Kelsey said. “But today, in St. Louis, in Mehlville Fire District, women have this option now to save the lives of their kids.”
“Thank you for allowing women in this community to have this resource.”
Mehlville critical care paramedics, firefighters and fire medics have been trained on protocols and procedures in the event a baby arrives in the box, including the transportation to the hospital, working with social workers, and notifying Health and Senior Services, according to Hendricks.
Two alarms trigger once a baby has been placed inside, which then a 60-second countdown begins allowing the mother to leave before dispatch notifies fire personnel.
Approximately 80 people attended Tuesday’s unveiling of the new baby box along with keynote speakers, including Hendricks, Murphy, Mehlville Fire Protection District Director Bonnie Stegman, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Safe Haven Baby Box founder and CEO Monica Kelsey, and Rev. Ryan Quarnstrom.
The Safe Haven Baby Box has been three years in the making after the idea to have one in Missouri was brought to Murphy’s attention. He sponsored the bill allowing for the baby boxes, which passed in 2021.
During his address, Murphy honored each key person who helped the baby box come to fruition.
Across the U.S., a total of 34 babies have been safely surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Boxes. The organization’s national hotline has received more than 8,000 calls since its inception. Currently, more than 40 communities are working toward having a baby box in a local hospital or fire station.