In May 2006, Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto City set up a "baby post" in which women who have unexpected or unwanted pregnancies and have difficulty in raising children can leave their newborn babies.
The post, named "konotori no yurikago (stork's cradle)," is actually a clean baby bed. Mothers from various parts of Japan have used this bed, the nation's only bed of its kind. This underlines the need to improve services nationwide to give advice and support to women who need help facing unexpected or unwanted pregnancy.
According to the hospital, a total of 83 babies have been deposited in the baby post — 17 in fiscal 2007, 25 in fiscal 2008, 15 in fiscal 2009, 18 in fiscal 2010 and eight in fiscal 2011. The trend in the number shows that the baby post did not encourage the "abandoning" of newborn babies there. The babies are being raised at social welfare facilities or by foster parents.