In Conversation With Dr Whitney Rosenberg, Co-founder of Baby Saver South Africa

Baby Savers South Africa is a national coalition of NGOs that provides safe alternatives for mothers in crisis who feel they cannot care for their newborn babies. Through specially designed Baby Saver boxes, installed at approved centres across the country, the boxes ensures that infants are safely relinquished rather than abandoned in unsafe conditions. Their mission is grounded in the belief that every child has the right to life, care, and protection as stated in Section 28 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
The first Baby Saver in the country was installed in 1999 by the Door of Hope Children’s Mission in Johannesburg. Since then, more than 30 have been established across the country. In 2020, Dr. Whitney Rosenberg completed her PhD on the legal regulation of infant abandonment, providing the foundation for Baby Savers SA to push for policy change. She took these findings to Parliament in 2021, advocating for legal recognition of Baby Saver systems.
In 2023, the Gauteng Department of Social Development declared Baby Savers illegal, arguing they facilitated abandonment and deprived children of their cultural identity. This sparked a legal showdown between the Department and Baby Savers SA. The NGO argued that these devices are not about promoting abandonment but about saving lives, especially in a country where an estimated 3,500 babies are unsafely abandoned every year, with most not surviving. The department argues that Baby savers go against the child’s right to identity, family and culture.