Baby safely surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Box at Mississippi hospital

MENDENHALL, Miss. (WLBT) - Last week, an infant was surrendered using Simpson General Hospital’s Safe Haven Baby Box, making this the second baby box surrender in the state of Mississippi.

Simpson General Hospital opened its Safe Haven Baby Box in January 2024, creating an anonymous way for mothers in crisis to safely surrender their infants. Simpson General Hospital, located at 1842 Simpson Hwy 149, is the second Safe Haven Baby Box location in the state.

Across the entire state, there are five Safe Haven Baby Box locations. There are over 340 locations nationwide.

When a mother chooses to surrender her infant within a Safe Haven Baby Box, the door locks upon closing the box and an alarm alerts personnel of the location where a baby has been surrendered.

The infant will be retrieved within five minutes, taken into the hospital for a medical evaluation and will be with an adoptive family soon after.

“When communities are prepared for anonymous surrender, we can radically change the outcome. We can avoid deadly abandonments for the infant and a life of prison for the mother. This mother was selfless. We know these are not light decisions and this infant will soon be adopted by a family praying for a child. Safe surrender truly makes light out of a heavy situation,” Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said.

Kelsey formed Safe Haven Baby Boxes in 2016, after learning - as an adult - that she was abandoned as an infant. 59 infants have been surrendered at Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2017.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes uses a national hotline, +1-866-99BABY1, to aid mothers in crisis with free, confidential counseling on each state’s Safe Haven Law.

Families seeking to adopt a Safe Haven baby should reach out to their local Department of Family Services to register for foster care to adopt.

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