image source, Toyin Odumara
Toyin Odumara, 22, says he wants to stop babies being left on the streets.
A woman who was abandoned as a baby is campaigning for the introduction of baby boxes in the UK.
The idea, which has been implemented in the United States, China and Europe, allows parents who are unable to care for their children to leave them in a safe place, according to Toyin Odumara’s online petition.
The Government has announced that it is investing in NHS England’s maternity services.
Toyin, born in July 2001, was left outside a block of flats in Plumstead, south-east London, by his mother, dressed in a denim jacket and with the umbilical cord still attached.
A dog walker spotted her and raised the alarm.
Toyin, now 22, says she wants to stop babies from being left on the streets.
“This is still happening. So it’s a problem. And it has to stop. We have to stop this,” she says.
Toyne was discovered in 2001 at the top of a staircase next to an apartment block in Plumstead.
Toyin says she was 11 years old when her adoptive parents told her what really happened when she was born.
she says: “Why was I abandoned? Why did this happen to me? Am I not good enough? I always blame myself.”
“I always had questions that I didn’t understand.”
Toyin climbed the stairs leading to the apartment complex and discovered he had been left outside.
She said she has never met the dog walker who discovered her, but would love to.
She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south-east London, where nurses named her Ossie after the registrar on duty.
My adoptive parents changed their first names, but my middle name is still Ossie.
Nurse Beatrice Nasaam helped care for Toyin at the hospital.
Toyin explained that she was kept in care for four months before her parents took her in.
She said they wanted to adopt a child. “They wanted to adopt me and just give me that love, and they still give me that love.”
When Toyin learned her true past, she was given the opportunity to contact her birth mother, who had previously come forward after her appeal.
Toyin wrote the letter and received a reply. In it, she explained that her mother thought she had to return to Ivory Coast because she did not have the “correct documents” to stay in the UK.
But Mr Toyne said the letter revealed that his mother was now living in the UK and that he had four half-siblings.
When asked if he wants to see his mother, Toyin says he is conflicted, but “right now, that’s not what I want to do.”
image source, Toyin Odumara
Toyin said her adoptive parents took her in and “I wanted them to give me that love, and they still give me that love.”
Instead, Toyin says she is focused on making a difference for abandoned children in the future.
She says reading the story of baby Elsa, who was abandoned in Newham, “brought back all the pain”.
Hatches are installed in designated locations such as hospitals and fire stations.
It is temperature controlled and has a sensor that alerts emergency services that there is a baby inside.
In addition to this, all US states protect parents who abandon a baby from prosecution if they use a hatch, as long as the baby is well.
image source, Getty Images
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Dan Paskins, director of Save the Children Impact, said Ms Toyin’s petition should be commended and that she was a “remarkable figure in difficult circumstances”.
The United Nations said the boxes “violate children’s right to be known and cared for by their parents.”
“Save the Children wants to see more support and support for families to prevent poverty and other problems so that no baby is abandoned and every child has the best start in life.” Says.
“Tackling inequality”
Ms Toyin said she hoped the online campaign on change.org would continue to gather more signatures, which would encourage the government to consider the idea.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) did not comment on the petition, but said improving care before, during and after pregnancy was one of its “top priorities”.
The report said mental health services across England would be expanded to include new mental health hubs for new, pregnant or bereaved mothers.
Specialist community perinatal mental health services were also being developed across England.
“We are investing £165m a year, increasing to £186m from April to expand the maternity workforce and improve newborn care across England, and to support all future “We are committing £6.8 million to reducing disparities in maternity care to help mothers-to-be feel safe during and after their birth,” the DHSC spokesperson added.