Since the start of the year 16 children have already been abandoned in the two maternity clinics of the city of Iasi, in north-eastern Romania. This is “a sad record and an unprecedented situation”, commented Pintilii Penciuc, director of the Child Social Assistance and Protection Agency (Daspb) to the Romanian Catholic portal www.catholica.ro. In fact in the whole of 2003, considered the worst year with the highest number of abandoned children in the maternity clinics of Iasi, 55 newborn infants were abandoned. By the end of January already 15 had been abandoned. “At least the mothers did not leave them in the street to die. Now they have the chance to be adopted by someone. And they are among the healthiest of the newborn!”, says the main assistant Mariana Rusu of the “Ghica Voda” Maternity Clinic. For nine of the 16 abandoned children the Daspb has already round favourable solutions for adoption by members of their families or in homes. The mothers who abandon their children in hospital are almost always very young. Those aged between 14 and 20 say they were forced to abandon them to be able to continue their studies, and those between 23 and 26 say they don’t have the financial means to bring up the children. Some 80% of these girls are unmarried. According to some doctors, the family of the mother and the wider community are also responsible for this situation: the parents abandon the young mother when she most has a need for family support, and the community especially in the rural environment is intolerant of women who have illegitimate children. According to a recent Unicef report in 2004, some 4.000 children have been abandoned immediately after birth throughout Romania since 1989.
