Japan's baby hatch

Jikei hospital, Japan, is home to the country’s only baby hatch, where marginalised, struggling women can relinquish their babies, yet remain secure in the knowledge that their offspring will be expertly taken care of.

Obstetrician Takeshi Hasuda heads the team at the clinic.

Takeshi Hasuda: "The most important role our baby hatch system has played so far is to provide a sort of last resort for women left alienated by society, when they have an unexpected pregnancy or unwanted pregnancy."

Hearing the alarm, the nurses shoot downstairs to retrieve the infant. They endeavour to catch the mother before she beats a hasty retreat, to proffer guidance and obtain a handful of basic details, so that later the youngster might be informed of their roots.

One such foundling was 18 year-old student Koichi Miyatsu, abandoned as a toddler in the hatch. Despite revering the souvenirs of his past that were deposited with him in the little compartment, he’s convinced his birth mother’s painful choice was for the best.

Koichi Miyatsu: "The day I was left there was the day a new chapter of my life began. I think it was good that I was given to the baby hatch. Because I was given to the hatch, I met my current parents and now live like this. I am grateful for it. I owe what I am today to the baby hatch."

Although the baby-hatch phenomenon isn’t peculiar to Japan, cropping up in countries such as South Korea, Pakistan and the US, many countries have outlawed them.

Managed by the Catholic church, the Jikei hospital hatch has been operating for the last 15 years but there’s much scepticism about the notion itself, in a traditional society where births, deaths and marriages can be traced back through generations.

Confidentiality is central to the whole process, yet the determination of child welfare officials has meant that four out of five of the 161 abandoned babies have learned their parents’ identities, with one in five being reunited with their blood relatives. View Less