Stamps CHF 1.20 «25 years Baby Window Switzerland», sheet with 20 stamps

Switzerland’s first Baby Window was opened at Einsiedeln hospital on 9 May 2001. 25 years later, this support service is available in hospitals in Basel, Bellinzona, Bern, Davos, Schwyz, Olten, Zurich and Sion. Baby Window helps mothers who find themselves in a desperate situation. It allows them to leave their newborns under medical supervision at a hospital, anonymously and legally, by placing the baby in a heated cot through a window with a built-in privacy shield. An information letter is available for the mother to take with her. After about three minutes, an alarm notifies the hospital’s midwives, who then take care of the child. Babies are later placed with foster or adoptive parents. They cannot be adopted for at least one year. Until then, parents can reclaim their child. The aim of Baby Window is to prevent child abandonment and save lives.