If you have decided that you do not want to become a parent, but you do not want to have, or were unable to have, an abortion, you have the option of anonymous childbirth. With this option:

• consider whether you feel physically and psychologically ready to go through pregnancy and childbirth;

• Do not refuse healthcare: consider relying on the Italian Health Service (Sistema Sanitario Nazionale, SSN) or on healthcare professionals experienced in assisted home birth who can make the birth declaration on your behalf. This is the only way to fully protect both yourself and the newborn, in case pregnancy goes on without problems and a baby is delivered

For this reason, we recommend that anyone who is about to give birth go to a hospital or birth centre, or alternatively identify qualified healthcare professionals experienced in assisted home birth and clearly communicate this wish to them. Contact us if you need to talk about it.

How Anonymous Childbirth Works in Italy

Once the pregnancy has been confirmed, the person carrying the pregnancy agrees to carry it to term without recognising the child after birth, thereby allowing the hospital to take charge of the newborn, under the care of qualified healthcare staff.

The legal framework governing anonymous childbirth is set out in Presidential Decree (DPR) No. 396/2000, Article 30, paragraph 2, which provides that the name of the person who gives birth remains permanently confidential. In the birth certificate, the following wording is used: “born to a woman who does not consent to being named”.

The law on anonymous childbirth also applies to people who are:

• not resident in Italy;

• without a residence permit;

• without a family doctor;

• without a health insurance.

This means that hospitals and healthcare professionals who care for you have a legal duty to protect your right to anonymity (permanently), while the State has the duty to ensure that the newborn is placed with a suitable family. Hundreds of people choose anonymous childbirth every year, but these remain statistical data only: their stories do not appear in the media, in order to protect their privacy.

We recall that the newborn is a person recognised by Italian law, with inviolable rights, including the right to life, to identification, to a name, to education, and to be raised within a family.

Within the National Health Service, it is also possible to access services such as psychological support and counselling, so that the pregnant person does not feel alone. In cases of uncertainty, it is possible to ask the Tribunale dei Minori (the Italian Juvenile Court, a specialised legal tribunal that handles cases involving minors) for additional time to reflect before the newborn is placed in the adoption process. The maximum period is two months, in the best interests of the newborn’s health.

The State provides support until the age of 16, at which point the person who has given birth may decide whether to initiate the adoption procedure or to raise the newborn. During this period, it is important that contact between the person who gave birth and the newborn is maintained, while the newborn is adequately cared for.

Why Anonymous Childbirth Is Preferable to Baby Hatches and “culle per la vita” (“Cradles for Life”)

Baby hatches and so-called “cradles for life” are heated containers installed in churches, premises of religious organisations, and sometimes hospitals. In some cases, the surrounding area is monitored by cameras. They are part of a historical Italian tradition, originally managed by Roman Catholic communities, where newborns could be left for care after an unassisted home birth carried out in secrecy. Today, however, several critical issues must be considered.

1) Health protection concerns

Childbirth always involves health risks. If one chooses to give birth at home, it is essential to be supported by trained and competent personnel who are able to manage the situation safely and, if necessary, to ensure prompt transfer of both the birthing person and the newborn to emergency care. In many cases, those who use baby hatches have given birth at home without qualified assistance.

• Sadly, news reports sometimes document tragic outcomes. Giving birth safely at home is possible, but doing so without professional support is a risk that should not be taken, for both the birthing person and the newborn;
• In October 2024, newspapers published the full name, city of residence and age of a woman under investigation for homicide after her newborn did not survive an unassisted home birth.

2) Privacy protection concerns

Since the 1990s, these “cradles” have been revived and are managed arbitrarily by anti-abortion organisations, sometimes without the involvement of healthcare professionals. Their use has increasingly become a marketing tool for such organisations and a focus of media attention, in direct conflict with the right to privacy of both the newborn and the person who gave birth.

Some examples:

• 2023: Enea, left in the baby hatch installed at the Policlinico Hospital in Milan on Easter Day, together with a note written by the person who gave birth. A press release was issued and the note, including the mother’s handwriting, was shown on television, in newspapers and online. Appeals were launched urging the person who gave birth to change her mind. In order to protect his privacy, Enea could only be adopted after his name and date of birth were changed.
• 2023: Noemi, left in the baby hatch in Brescia and found by the Italian Red Cross. Her story appeared in all major newspapers, with details about her physical features and clothing being published.
• In some cases, camera footage showing the woman leaving the newborn in the hatch has even been broadcast.

The anonymous childbirth procedure, by contrast, does not involve press releases or public announcements, because it is not an event intended for publicity. On the contrary, the hospital that receives the pregnant person and the newborn has a legal obligation to guarantee anonymity.

3) Newborns found deceased in baby hatches: this has happened

Modern baby hatches are electronic and equipped with sensors that keep the newborn warm and trigger an alarm to those responsible for monitoring them. When located within hospitals, supervision is guaranteed 24 hours a day, ensuring immediate medical intervention if needed.

However, dozens of baby hatches are completely disconnected from the National Health Service.

• 2025: a newborn was found dead from hypothermia in the baby hatch of the Church of San Giovanni Battista in the Poggiofranco district of Bari. The building is not close to a hospital, and the hatch was not connected to the local university hospital. Something went wrong, and a life was lost, leading to the opening of an investigation for involuntary homicide. The woman who gave birth is among those under investigation.