Third newborn baby saved in Missouri thanks to Safe Haven Baby Box

A newborn baby has been safely surrendered at a newly-installed Safe Haven Baby Box in Missouri — the first for this location, and the third baby box surrender in the state overall, which currently has eight boxes installed with more to come.

Key Takeaways:

• In 2021, Missouri passed a law allowing Safe Haven Baby Boxes to be added to the state's designated locations for infant surrenders.

• A new baby box was constructed at the O'Fallon fire station, and the first infant was surrendered there safely on September 13.

• The baby boxes are attached to fire stations, hospitals, or other secure locations which are staffed 24/7, and are climate controlled for the baby's safety. When the mother places the baby inside the box, an alarm is triggered notifying staff.

The Details:

A newborn baby surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box at O’Fallon Fire Station in O’Fallon, Missouri, is safe, healthy, and in the care of a foster family.

The newborn is the first infant to be surrendered to the O’Fallon Baby Box, just two months after its installation, which was funded completely by the Knights of Columbus. The infant is the third surrendered to a Baby Box in the state since the passage of a 2021 law allowing Safe Haven Baby Box surrenders in Missouri.

The baby was surrendered by his or her mother anonymously around 8:45 am on September 13. After the newborn’s mother placed the baby in the box, an alarm went off in the fire station, and firemen and paramedics retrieved the child from the box in less than a minute.

Although it was not required by law, the mother decided to call the fire station before surrendering her baby. Emergency personnel had 30 minutes to prepare for the baby’s arrival, and they closed the bay doors and gathered in the back of the station to give the mother privacy as she said her final goodbyes to her infant.

Newborn baby surrendered to O’Fallon, Missouri Safe Haven Baby Box

Captain Sean Porter was one of the personnel who anticipated and cared for the newborn at the fire station. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Porter, who is the father of four children, said he was emotionally prepared for the newborn’s arrival at the station, but still found the experience "surreal."

“It felt like I was in a waiting room, pacing around, waiting for someone to tell me my child was here,” Porter said.

Assistant Fire Chief Andy Parrish expressed gratitude that the newborn was surrendered safely.

“We are grateful this resource was used as intended — to protect the life of a child and provide peace of mind for a parent in need. Everything worked perfectly, and care was started by on-scene firefighter/paramedics,” Parrish said.

The Big Picture:

Monica Kelsey, who founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 2017, praised the firefighters.

“They followed every protocol. They did it flawlessly, and they did it lovingly,” Kelsey said.

Kelsey also praised the mother and mothers like her in crisis situations, who are willing to surrender their newborn babies in safety out of love, to give the children better lives.

“When they take their child to a safe place, we know that they love these babies and they love these babies more than themselves. They’re allowing their own heart to break for the betterment of the child,” said Kelsey.

State Representative Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis) has championed the cause of Safe Haven Baby Boxes in Missouri, and is responsible for the legislation permitting and funding Baby Boxes. In 2021, Murphy sponsored the language included in House Bill 432, which allows Baby Boxes to be used and for babies to be surrendered up to 45 days after birth.

During Missouri’s most recent legislative session, the legislature set $250,000 aside in the state budget to help entities fund 25 more Baby Boxes in the state. Representative Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, led the effort to secure funding for the Baby Boxes in the state budget.

Both Murphy and Proudie, who are in different political parties, are personally invested in the effort to save babies from abandonment and infanticide in Missouri and have worked together for this cause.

“I think we all look forward to a time where we can stop hearing about babies being found in dumpsters, or in bathrooms, or in trash cans, or under trees, or buried. We are in the business of not only saving lives but improving the quality of life for the citizens of Missouri,” Proudie said.

Murphy, who has three children and 12 grandchildren and attends Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Church in St. Louis with his wife, is reportedly moved to tears each time a baby is surrendered to one of the Baby Boxes he sponsored.

“Every time I hear a baby has been saved, I cry. We have to honor the mothers. Can you imagine the sacrifices they’ve made for their child?” Murphy said.

This is how Murphy responded the first time a baby was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box in his state:

"It was an incredible moment in my life. It moved me forever. If I do nothing else worthwhile, and I’ve done a lot of things in the legislature, but this one I think is the most important because we actually saved a life."

The Bottom Line:

Safe Haven laws, as well as Safe Haven Baby Boxes, are life-saving resources. While ideally, every mother would feel that they can parent their children, sometimes that isn't possible. And in those circumstances, they deserve the chance to safely and lovingly relinquish their child without fear.