All you need to know about childbirth in X

Material impossibility, psychological distress, isolation … If the reasons for giving birth under X are numerous, they are almost always painful. Let’s take a look at anonymous childbirth from the perspective of the parents and the child.

They are a little more than 600 women each year in France to make this painful decision, which they consider the best in view of their situation: that of not becoming a mother and of giving birth under X. If the practice is not recent – in the 18th century in France, you could for example place your child in a kind of tourniquet adjoining a hospice without being seen by the person who collected it – secret delivery has been guaranteed by law since 1904, with since changes in legal texts to take into account the interests of the child while still allowing the anonymity of the mother.

How does childbirth take place under X?

Thus, pregnant women who decide not to raise their child can come and give birth anonymously, in any maternity unit. After notifying the nursing staff, no identity document may be requested from them and no investigation may be carried out, according to articles specifically provided for in the Civil Code and in the Public Health Code.

They are then informed of the consequences of this abandonment, of the financial assistance available for raising a child, as well as of the times and conditions for being able to recover their child, so that any pregnant woman can make this important decision with full knowledge of the facts. They will also have the possibility of providing their identity or any other information concerning the father, his health, his origins, an explanation of the circumstances of the birth of the child, in a closed envelope kept by the services of the department.

The woman who wishes to give birth under X can also choose the first name (s) of the child, which will then appear on the outside of this sealed fold, with the indication of sex, but also the date, the place, and the time. from birth. We will also explain to her that she can at any time in her life lift this anonymity, and give her identity under cover, or even supplement the information that she already communicated at the time of the baby's birth. All these formalities are carried out by a departmental representative of the National Council for Access to Personal Origin (CNAOP) or by a member of the hospital or maternity staff, and will be kept by the CNAOP.

In addition, regardless of the establishment chosen to give birth under X, the pregnant woman will not have to pay the costs of the maternity stay. She will also be able to request psychological and social support from the services of the Department of Social Aid for Children (ASE).

What happens to the child after an X birth?

After birth, the baby is generally hospitalized in a different department from that of the biological mother in the maternity unit, but, depending on the health establishment chosen, visits may be possible. The child is entrusted to the service of the Ase and a report of abandonment is established in the three days which follow the birth, and which cancels all filiation. The declaration of birth can then be made to the civil status by a representative of the CNAOP, without the name of the mother or father appearing on the civil status register, and the child is then declared a pupil of the 'State provisionally. He may be placed in a nursery or in a foster family pending an adoption procedure.

Can the mother change her mind?

As soon as a woman wishes to give birth under X, she is informed at the hospital or maternity unit that she has the right to change her mind, but only within a very short time. She will indeed have 2 months from her delivery to reverse her decision, recognize her child and assert her rights. This recognition can be carried out in any town hall by presenting an identity document and proof of address. Support will then be offered for 3 years so that the attachment is carried out in the best conditions between the mother and the child, after a somewhat difficult start.
Before these 2 months, the abandonment remains provisional, the baby cannot be adopted. After this period, he will be admitted as a ward of the State and may be proposed for an adoption procedure. Maternal parentage will be deleted and cannot be restored.

What about the father?

If the father is sometimes at the origin of the abandonment of a child (because he is violent, because he refuses to have a baby, because the couple is separated, etc.), he can also not being aware of the situation and wanting to recognize your child before it is too late. The biological father will then have to go to the town hall within two months of the birth, provided with an identity document and proof of address, to carry out this recognition. If he does not know the date or the place of birth of his child, he can seize the public prosecutor who will then look for the date and place of establishment of the birth certificate.

After this two month period, the biological parents of the child will have no other choice but to take legal action to try to recover their child, without guarantee, because justice will always take into account the interests of the children. in the first place. There are thus several cases in France with different outcomes in recent years:

  • in 2006, the Court of Cassation recognized the paternal filiation of a father who had carried out the early recognition of his child born under X, but only 6 years after birth;
  • in 2011, the Angers Court of Appeal entrusted the custody of a child born under X to his maternal grandparents;
  • in 2014, the Rennes Court of Appeal did not authorize the return of a little boy born under X to his biological father.

Can a child born under X know its origins?

If, in France, women have the right to give birth in secret, without revealing their identity, the law also tries to take into account the right of children to know their origins. And we can understand it as it can be painful to grow up without knowing where we come from. Article 7 of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child thus indicates that “The child is registered as soon as he is born and has from that time the right to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know his parents and to be brought up by them”.
In France, the law of January 22, 2002 initiated by Ségolène Royal, then Minister of Families, and inserted in the code of social action and families, concerns access to the origins of any adopted person or ward of the State . This law notably made it possible to create the National Council for Access to Personal Origins (CNAOP), responsible for receiving requests for access to their origins from children born under X, but also authorizations from mothers to raise the secret of their identity.

These requests to the CNAOP can be made by children born under X once they have reached the age of majority, or when they are minors if they can show discernment and if they have the agreement of their legal representative.

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