Childbirth under X: how is it going?

The tradition of anonymous childbirth is very old. Already in the 17th century, the young mother placed the newborn baby in a tower, placed in the wall of a hospice. On the other side, someone tilted the tower and picked up the infant, without seeing the mother’s face. In 1941, a law organized childbirth under X with free payment of the costs of the stay in the maternity hospital. Yesterday as today, the goal is the same: to fight against illegal childbirth, wild abandonment or infanticide, still too numerous in the news …

What happens to the baby in the event of a birth under X?

The newborn is immediately entrusted to the departmental services of social assistance to children or taken in by a French organization authorized for theAdoption. According to French law, the child is declared a ward of the State on a provisional basis from the moment of his birth. Guardianship is organized from the date of this declaration.

The mother has two months to reconsider her decision. This period is extended to six months for that of the father or mother who has not entrusted the child to the service. Beyond these deadlines, the decision to accept or refuse the restitution of a ward of the State is taken by the guardian, with the agreement of the family council. In the event of refusal, the applicants can apply to the tribunal de grande instance.

In the event that the child is returned to one of its parents, the president of the departmental council offers medical, psychological, educational and social support for the parent and the child for the three years following this return. The goal ? Guarantee the establishment of the relationships necessary for the physical and psychological development of the child as well as his emotional stability.

And the mother?

To help her in her painful choice to give birth under X, the mother can ask for psychological and social support from the child welfare service (ASE).

Childbirth under X: anonymity respected

Without the right to secrecy, childbirth under X would no longer be useful. In 2003, the European Court of Human Rights (Françoise Pascale Odièvre case) thus refused to condemn France, acknowledging that French law falls under “in order to protect the health of mother and child during pregnancy and childbirth, andavoid clandestine abortions or wild abandonment …“. A young woman accused France of prohibiting the lifting of secrecy on the identity of her parents, according to the own will of the biological mother.

Childbirth under X: reception at the maternity ward

Whether in a public, private institution, contracted or not, the young mother can request a childbirth under X, and therefore, the secrecy of her admission and her identity. To respect his choice, no identity document can be requested, nor any investigation carried out.

However, to enable her to act in a thoughtful manner, the woman is informed, as soon as she enters the maternity ward, of the consequences of childbirth under X, of the abandonment of the child and of the importance for it. that have the information on its history and its origin.

She is therefore invited to leave information on:

• his health and that of the father;
• the circumstances of the child’s birth;
• the origins of the child;
• his identity, which will be kept in a sealed envelope.

The first names given to the child, mention made that they were given by the mother if this is the case, the sex, date, place and time of birth are written on the outside of the envelope. If the mother did not want to express herself at the time of childbirth, she can always do so at any time, whether it is to reveal her identity in a sealed envelope or to complete the information given.

Note that according to a study carried out in 2016-2017 by the agency ASDO Etudes at the request of the General Directorate of Social Cohesion, only 10% of the 457 mothers who gave birth in 77 departments left their identity in the file of the ‘child. And 42% did not submit a closed envelope.

Paternity in childbirth under X

Until recently, the mother who decided to give birth under X, automatically deprived her (ex) companion of all paternity. The father was only invited to give his identity, in a sealed envelope. But in a judgment of April 7, 2006, the Court of Cassation upset the whole operation of childbirth under X. 

Paternity recognized in childbirth under X

The facts date back to 2000. A father, Philippe Peter, had clearly shown his desire to recognize and raise his child, two months before the birth. However, the mother gave birth under X and the child was given to a couple who wanted to adopt him. It took a seven-year legal battle for that to change!

Three court decisions for the judge to grant the father to recognize his son born under X. As the father’s lawyer explained to the newspaper Le Monde : “This judgment marks the end of all maternal power. A woman who gives birth under X can no longer deprive the father of his paternity ”.

The father must still be aware of the pregnancy …

Finding parents after childbirth under X

By a law of 2002, Ségolène Royal, then Minister for the Family and Children, created the National Council for Access to Personal Origins (Cnaop). He is responsible for collecting and preserving information on the identity of the birth parents and the elements of the child’s original history.

39% of parents raise the secret of their identity

Its most delicate role: to find the biological mother and obtain her consent if the child asks to know his origins. The council must act with respect for the privacy of the birth mother, with discretion, provide support for each other and offer mediation in order to seek an agreement between the parties concerned. 39% of birth parents contacted by the Cnaop agreed to disclose the secrecy of their identity.

Yet eagerly awaited by children resulting from childbirth under X, on February 28, 2005, the Cnaop had only received 1 requests for access to personal origins, ie by 740 to 1% of adults. And if the child has made no request for tracing, the lifting of secrecy by the birth mother will not be reported to him.

And from 2002 to 2010, the CNAOP recorded only 4916 applications for children “born under X” adopted or wards of the State, in search of the identity of their original parents, while the figure of 400 potential applicants living in France is mentioned. In 000% the files could be closed (mainly due to the impossibility of identifying or locating the birth parents, the refusal of the birth parents to lift the secret of their identity or the lifting of secrecy).

Childbirth under X: when the parent dies …

The drafting of the law (art. L147-6 of the code of social action and families) which leads to the possibility of accessing the identity of the mother and / or the father, leads to confusion. The father (or mother) who does not agree to see his applicant child again, must express an explicit refusal. However, the text does not allow the mother or father to oppose during his lifetime, the revelation of his identity after his death. Often, people resulting from childbirth under X then prefer to wait for the death of their biological parents, to avoid being subjected to a traumatic refusal. Which does not go without asking a major ethical question …

Do you want to talk about it between parents? To give your opinion, to bring your testimony? We meet on https://forum.parents.fr.