Rumford to Install Maine’s First Ever ‘Baby Box’

Sad to think that towns even need this but Rumford will soon be home to Maine’s very first Safe Haven Baby Box, according to Bangor Daily News.

This will give parents in trauma or crisis a safe and anonymous option to surrender their newborns.  

Rumford Fire Department’s newest station will be home to this baby box. The box will have an alarm and alert responders the moment a baby is placed inside. It also is climate-controlled and will be fully monitored.  

The Fire Chief, Chris Reed says that the idea has been in talks for about two years and now that Maine’s regulations for baby boxes are completed, the project can happen.  

Saying, “I’m super proud of it. The community needs it. The overall county could use it. It’s not just for Rumford anybody in the state can use it.”

There haven’t been any recent cases of baby abandonment, but the area does struggle with limited access to maternity care, very high rates of drug abuse, and low income housing, as per the article. 

Those are all components that can lead to a parent feeling too overwhelmed to care.  

In addition to those issues, Rumford’s hospital closed it’s maternity ward two years ago and prenatal care is limited in that area.  

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This baby box will offer lifesaving alternative for folks that are desperate.  

It’s being funded mostly through Maine Right to Life and other local donations.  

According to the report, once it is fully installed, it will be open to anyone in the state who needs it but their are a few regulations.

The child must be under 31 days old to be legally surrendered under Maine’s Safe Haven Law.