Goal: Reduce the number of newborn babies, abandoned in the Ungheni Rayon, by the end of 2008. Objectives: 1. Develop a child abandonment at birth prevention service in the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Ungheni, by the end of 2008; 2. Develop and test the service of placement of mothers with newborn babies in foster care, by the end of 2008;

Expected outcomes:
- Capacities of medical staff and other specialists in the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Ungheni built;
- Rayon-level referral mechanism for abandonment cases set up;
- Legal framework for the placement of parent-and-baby couples in foster care developed and approved. This type of placement implemented;
- Legal framework for residential social placement service for parent-and-baby couplesdeveloped;
- Placement centre for parent-and-baby unit set up;
- The services, provided by the centre, developed and the capacities of the staff to work with newborn babies and their parents built.

What does it offer?
- Social and psychological assistance to mothers before and after childbirth;
- Information and counseling to raise awareness of the risks and consequences of child institutionalisation;
- Contribution to the development of attachment between mother and baby.

What are its goals?
- Prevent child abandonment at birth;
- Increase the responsibility of parents and communities;
- Reduce the numbers of children under 3 years of age placed in institutions.

Beneficiaries:
- Newborn babies at risk of abandonment and their parents.

                                                                                    Center for the placement of parent-and-baby couples:

What does it offer?
- Social and psychological assistance to mothers before and after childbirth;
- Information and counseling to raise awareness of the risks and consequences of child institutionalisation;
- Parental skill and ability building;
- Development of sociability.

What are its goals?
- Prevent child abandonment at birth;
- Increase the responsibility of parents and communities;
- Reduce the numbers of children under 3 years of age placed in institutions.

Beneficiaries:
- Newborn babies at risk of abandonment and their parents.

Achievements:

The project was launched in August 2006. According to the decision of the Ungheni Rayon Council, the placement center for parent-and-baby couples was created within the Department of Social Assistance and Family Protection, and is a unit of regional interest. The Ungheni Rayon Council took over the running costs of this residential service. The unit was officially opened in August 2007. It is worth mentioning that a qualitative study was performed within the project, in order to identify the causes of child abandonment at birthand what interventions the community and the local and central public authorities should make.

“…Child abandonment at birthis determined by a combination of a number of causes: economic, financial (lack of living space and of financial resources), psychological (lack of responsibility and of parental feelings), relational (no support from the parents andthe family), and educational (lack of sexual education). These causes, in different combinations, are true for different categories of women, abandoning their newborn babies.

Community’s opinion (fist of all, the opinion of the state), is very significant, and may influence parents’ decision regarding the abandonment of their child. This is why women, intending to abandon their newborn baby, choose to deliver in Chisinau. It allows them to keep their pregnancy and childbirth in secret, as well as to avoid remorse caused by accusations made by their relatives, with regard to keeping the child. Thus, determined in many instances by socio-economical conditions, and being rejected by their extended families, women decide to give in to critical circumstances, evading and avoiding assuming responsibility of upbringing their children. It has been revealed that, in some cases, women decided to abandon their child at the suggestion of medical staff, especially of the family doctor – the first contact person for a pregnant woman.

Lack of coordination and of integrity of health and social services at community level favours child abandonment at birth, in the conditions, when a woman at risk does not always receive support and help she needs to overcome difficult situations…”
(Fragment from the research “Causes of Child abandonment at birth”)