Hospitals left to deal with newborns abandoned by mothers without IDs

The Ministry of Health has said there have been frequent cases of women without legal IDs abandoning their newborns to avoid documentation complications, Makkah Arabic newspaper reported.

Turaif Al-Aama, director of treatment services at the ministry, said both and public hospitals have dealt with abandoned newborns because their mothers have no legal documentation.

“There have been many cases of pregnant non-Saudi women who were admitted to hospital for labor. After giving birth, they would flee the hospital leaving their newborns without any papers or documentation to trace,” said Al-Aama.

He said the interior minister had previously contacted the Ministry of Health demanding a solution to the problem.

“The minister of health has ordered all maternity hospitals or hospitals with maternity wards must increase their security. The hospitals must have at least two labor rooms available for pregnant women with no identifications,” said Al-Aama.

He also said the hospitals should provide intensive security in these rooms to ensure that the women will not escape.

“The women should also feel safe in these rooms and understand that they will not be questioned while they are in labor. The Ministry of Health is now implementing a policy of exclusive labor rooms for pregnant women without any legal identification,” said Al-Aama.

A source from Makkah Health Affairs has said implementing the new policy is not a simple task.

“We need to find space for new labor rooms and we need to ensure that these rooms are well maintained. Moreover, the labor rooms are in the women’s sections, which means we need to hire female security guards,” said the source.

The source also said hospitals are not involved in determining the legal and social status of mothers.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs should get involved by providing a shelter for such women because it would be risky to deport them and their newborns immediately after birth,” said the source.

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