Spurt in new arrivals at Ammathottil in Kollam

Facility in district receives 15 babies in one year as against 25 in preceding 11 years

Since its inception in 2009 till March 2020, the Ammathottil in Kollam had welcomed 25 newborns. But in the past one year, the facility, under the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare, saw a sharp rise in new arrivals, with 15 babies landing in the cradle. According to officials, there has been a spike in child surrenders as well and the Women & Child Development Department is planning to carry out a study to find the reasons. “There can be an array of factors contributing to it, ranging from loss of livelihood to lack of access to contraceptives. The pandemic might have robbed some parents of the means to take care of another child. Also, there has been a surge in the number of sexual abuse cases involving minors,” says an official. By leaving the baby in Ammathottil, the parental rights are relinquished within a stipulated time frame and the council never tries to track them. “Mostly, unwed and underage mothers leave their babies in Ammathottil. But of late, many parents have been getting in touch with us, anonymously. Recently, a family travelled from Chennai to leave their baby in one of our cradles.”