{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:53:16Z","timestamp":1782867196651,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)","issue":"7","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Neonatal abandonment, concealment of birth, and unsafe surrender, which is defined as relinquishment of a newborn in unprotected, nonmedical settings such as public places, refuse sites, or private locations without supervision or care, remain persistent public health and medico-legal challenges in India. These events occur as the result of a combination of poverty, gender bias, social stigma, perinatal mental-health vulnerability, and gaps in accessible maternal support. For clinicians, immediate priorities include resuscitation, safeguarding the infant, ensuring systematic and accurate documentation, and in India, initiating mandatory reporting. In this review, we provide an overview of India\u2019s current legal framework and summarize evolving safe surrender initiatives, clinical and forensic challenges, and recommended strategies to reduce harm; comparison with approaches in other countries is also included. A rights-based approach, along with institutional protocols and perinatal mental-health services, may reduce preventable neonatal morbidity and mortality while supporting vulnerable mothers in India.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1542\/neo.27-7-026","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:09:45Z","timestamp":1782864585000},"page":"e407-e413","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Legal Rights of Neonates in India: Birth Concealment, Abandonment, and Safe Surrender"],"prefix":"10.1542","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Pragnesh","family":"Parmar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Science, Bibinagar, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gunvanti","family":"Rathod","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"2Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Science, Bibinagar, Telangana, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"417","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026063020050250000_r1","article-title":"Section 93: Exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years","author":"The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita","year":"2023"},{"key":"2026063020050250000_r2","article-title":"Section 94: Concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body","author":"The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita","year":"2023"},{"issue":"5","key":"2026063020050250000_r3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"397","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pedn.2007.08.004","article-title":"Safe-haven laws focus on abandoned newborns and their mothers","volume":"22","author":"Kunkel","year":"2007","journal-title":"J Pediatr Nurs."},{"issue":"2","key":"2026063020050250000_r4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"352","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jen.2020.12.005","article-title":"Providing a safe haven: staff response to a simulated infant relinquishment in the emergency department","volume":"47","author":"Rousseau","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Emerg Nurs."},{"issue":"2","key":"2026063020050250000_r5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108","DOI":"10.1097\/00006565-200304000-00012","article-title":"Perspectives on newborn abandonment","volume":"19","author":"Bradley","year":"2003","journal-title":"Pediatr Emerg Care."},{"issue":"39","key":"2026063020050250000_r6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1385","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm6939a1","article-title":"Infant homicides within the context of Safe Haven Laws - United States, 2008\u20132017","volume":"69","author":"Wilson","year":"2020","journal-title":"MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep."},{"issue":"1","key":"2026063020050250000_r7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6939-14-9","article-title":"Should we maintain baby hatches in our society?","volume":"14","author":"Asai","year":"2013","journal-title":"BMC Med Ethics."},{"issue":"5","key":"2026063020050250000_r8","first-page":"263","article-title":"The cradle baby scheme","volume":"20","author":"Mani","year":"2007","journal-title":"Natl Med J India."},{"issue":"4","key":"2026063020050250000_r9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"428","DOI":"10.1111\/1471-0528.12099","article-title":"Is the introduction of anonymous delivery associated with a reduction of high neonaticide rates in Austria? 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