Push for baby hatch for new mums to give up their babies THE State Government should support a push to set up "baby hatches" where desperate mothers can safely surrender their newborns, a South Australian academic says. Australian Centre for Child Protection and UniSA researcher Sharon Dawe says the option would help mothers who may be considering abandoning their babies. State Parliament is considering a law proposed by independent MP Ann Bressington that would allow mothers to surrender babies to a doctor or nurse in a hospital or clinic. Hospitals could also install a specially designed hatch into which a mother could place a child and an alarm would alert medical staff. Such systems are used in the US. YOUR SAY: Should the Government support baby hatches? However, with only one week left before State Parliament rises ahead of the March election it looks unlikely the law will be approved by then. "The baby-hatch legislation is an opportunity to give a bit of protection or alternative to someone who is in a very vulnerable and fragile state," Professor Dawe said. I wouldn't like it to be proposed as a solution to a problem, but more as a way to keep babies safe at a point in time when their mothers are in a state of extreme distress, vulnerability and despair. So ... there is an alternative to perhaps leaving your baby in a place that is very unsafe. An Education and Child Development Department spokeswoman said the surrender of a newborn to Families SA or police was a "very infrequent event." She said available support services included were available - including the Babies Safe and Well program and the Universal Contact Visit and Home Visiting program. The Opposition has indicated support for Ms Bressington's legislation but Child Development Minister Jennifer Rankine says the Government is opposed to the idea. She said if a mother was "firm in her decision to relinquish her child" she could do so to Families SA. Professor Dawe alsorecently presented research to a child protection conference that challenged the notion that mothers with substance abuse problems are "bad mums." She found up to 60 per cent provided good-quality care, love and attention to their children. Instead, mental health problems were a stronger predictor a child may be at risk. She said authorities needed to "rethink" their approach to helping mothers with substance abuse issues and take more account of the relationship between mother and infant.