Policing the Newborns

Prior to 1999 thousands of newborn babies used to be abandoned in the United States.  Mothers who, for whatever reason, found the prospect of raising a child too much to bear would routinely leave newborns everywhere from trash bins to hospital doorsteps.

Unfortunately, many of those babies weren’t found alive since mothers were afraid of getting into trouble and chose trash bins over hospitals the majority of the time.  However, in 1999 the Save Haven laws were passed that allowed parents to give up their newborns with no questions asked.  There are still over a thousand babies abandoned each year but fortunately over three quarters of them are now found alive.  They’re usually turned over at a hospital, firehouse, or in many cases, police stations.

According to the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, an Illinois based non profit, roughly 30 babies are found in Illinois each year, which is about average.  However, Georgia has the dubious distinction of having the second highest rate of babies abandoned by their mothers in the country.  Georgia actually leads the country in the amount of babies who are abandoned in their first few days of life.  So the question is, why do mothers in Georgia choose this devastating path so often?

Great question!  But not one I know the answer to, nor am I prepared to answer because here at Beverly Hall Photography we are celebrating the newborns who have been lucky enough to be born into loving families and find their way to my photography studio in Sandy Springs.  More than that, the parents of these sweet, lucky newborns have provided me with the honor of capturing their beautiful little ones as they take in their brand new world somewhere between the ages of four and ten days old.  The perfect age for a newborn photography session!

Which brings me to Eli.  The subject of today’s newborn shoot.  Eli’s father is an Atlanta police officer who could very well someday cross paths with one of these abandoned babies and as I have now spent time with he and his wife, I can confidently say any abandoned baby he happens upon will be in good hands and find its way to the proper authorities.  It’s wonderful knowing my line of work has brought me in contact with an individual whose job it is to potentially save a newborn someday! 

Finally, if you know of a mother who may be struggling with this issue in Georgia, please have them call 770-765-6301.  This is the hotline for the Save Haven Chapter in Georgia.