Brussels' first 'baby hatch' set to open in Evere

Not-for-profit association Corvia, the provider of "love rooms" for the homeless in Brussels, are to launch a "baby hatch" in Evere at the end of the month.

Mothers who are incapable of caring for their baby, and see no other solution to the problem, will be able to abandon them anonymously.

Usually, the baby will be looked after by carers for about eight weeks before being put up for adoption. The mother can return to collect their child at any time within the eight-week care period.

“Everything is ready. Only the protocols have yet to be signed by the police and the city council,” Mathilde Pelsers from Corvia told Bruzz.

"The child must be examined by a doctor, the police must be warned, then he or she will be taken to an orphanage or, if the baby is ill, to the hospital.”

Until now, the only baby hatch in Belgium was located in Antwerp. Since 2000, it has received and cared for nine abandoned babies.

Germany has been a notable user of the baby hatch (or Babyklappe) since its reintroduction in 1952. Traditionally, hatches consist of a deposit box or flap in the outer framework of establishments such as hospitals, social centres and churches. The flaps open onto an insulated, padded bed. Sensors alert care workers to the arrival of an abandoned baby.