IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/hepoli/v93y2009i2-3p157-164.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Abandoned babies and absent policies

Author

Listed:
  • Mueller, Joanne
  • Sherr, Lorraine

Abstract

Object Although infant abandonment is a historical problem, we know remarkably little about the conditions or effects of abandonment to guide evidence driven policies. This paper briefly reviews the existing international evidence base with reference to potential mental health considerations before mapping current UK guidelines and procedures, and available incidence data. Limitations arising from these findings are discussed with reference to international practice, and interpreted in terms of future pathways for UK policy.Method A systematic approach was utilized to gather available data on policy information and statistics on abandoned babies in the UK.Results A review of the limited literature indicates that baby abandonment continues to occur, with potentially wide-ranging mental health ramifications for those involved. However, research into such consequences is lacking, and evidence with which to understand risk factors or motives for abandonment is scarce. International approaches to the issue remain controversial with outcomes unclear. Our systematic search identified that no specific UK policy relating to baby abandonment exists, either nationally or institutionally. This is compounded by a lack of accurate of UK abandonment statistics. Data that does exist is not comprehensive and sources are incompatible, resulting in an ambiguous picture of UK baby abandonment.Conclusions Available literature indicates an absence of clear provision, policy and research on baby abandonment. Based on current understanding of maternal and child mental health issues likely to be involved in abandonment, existing UK strategy could be easily adapted to avoid the 'learning from scratch' approach. National policies on recording and handling of baby abandonments are urgently needed, and future efforts should be concentrated on establishing clear data collection frameworks to inform understanding, guide competent practice and enable successfully targeted interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mueller, Joanne & Sherr, Lorraine, 2009. "Abandoned babies and absent policies," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(2-3), pages 157-164, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:93:y:2009:i:2-3:p:157-164
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168-8510(09)00146-8
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilson, Samantha L., 2004. "A current review of adoption research: exploring individual differences in adjustment," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(8), pages 687-696, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nsabimana, Epaphrodite & Rutembesa, Eugène & Gishoma, Darius & Uwineza, Jeannette & Fasseur, Fabienne & Herczog, Maria & Martin-Soelch, Chantal, 2021. "Does residential care system orphanizes children? Perceived pathways to self-adjustment following institutionalization in Rwanda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Balenzano, Caterina & Coppola, Gabrielle & Cassibba, Rosalinda & Moro, Giuseppe, 2018. "Pre-adoption adversities and adoptees' outcomes: The protective role of post-adoption variables in an Italian experience of domestic open adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 307-318.
    2. Gleitman, Ilana & Savaya, Riki, 2011. "Adjustment of adolescent adoptees: The role of age of adoption and exposure to pre-adoption stressors," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 758-766, May.
    3. Wright, Lois & Flynn, Cynthia C., 2006. "Adolescent adoption: Success despite challenges," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 487-510, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:93:y:2009:i:2-3:p:157-164. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.