Separation of newborns from their mothers due to lack of adequate identity data

Separation of newborns from their mothers due to lack of adequate identity data

Description

The Ombudsman received complaints concerning newly born infants who were not delivered to their mothers upon their leaving hospital after childbirth, because the mothers did not have proper identification. The infants remained at hospital and were later placed in institutional care where they remained for long.  The Ombudsman suggested to the Ministry of Health that they should find a way not to interrupt the infant’s biological and legal bond with the mother, by assisting the latter in the process of issuing identity documents. Law 4554/2018, which was subsequently adopted, includes regulations to record births by mothers without identification documents and register the infants within hospitals, in order to put an end to this harmful practice.

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