It must be a heart-wrenching decision to abandon one's baby. One can only imagine the desperate conditions that would lead a parent to do so. The reasons for abandonment may be varied: an unwed mother facing intense social stigma; parents unable to look after their child, often because it is mentally or physically ill; or, as often is the case in India, simply not wanting a girl.

The underlying causes of the crisis, deeply rooted in Indian society, will not be easy or quick to remedy. However, in the meantime, there's at least one good idea out there for addressing this urgent problem: baby hatches. It's not a permanent solution, but it could be a temporary stopgap.

A baby hatch is basically a safe place -- maybe a crib or a room, often attached to a health center -- where a parent can leave their child without fear of prosecution. These children are then looked after by the government and, if possible, placed with an adoptive family. There is a special term for such children -- not orphans because they have living parents, but foundlings: they have been found. Since the 18th century, variations of the baby hatch concept have existed in much of central Europe, where they have sometimes been called "foundling wheels".

Many American states now have "safe haven" laws, designated safe drop-off locations where parents can leave unwanted babies. These are usually hospitals, police stations, or fire stations. In France, a woman is allowed to deliver her baby in a hospital and, if she doesn't want to keep it, leave it behind -- no questions asked. Many countries have set up their own systems of baby hatches: Italy, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Japan, the Philippines, and South Africa, to name a few. Canada installed its first baby hatch at a hospital in Vancouver. Einsiedeln, a small town in Switzerland, has had a baby hatch for ten years, and even though they've received only two babies in that time, they still feel it worthwhile to keep it open. As the Economist reports, "Now Germany has around 200 places where a mother can either leave her baby -- heated 'baby hatches', usually with an alarm to summon a carer -- or where she can give birth anonymously." In Pakistan, the Edhi Foundation accepts abandoned babies at its numerous welfare centers throughout the country. In China some officials are testing what they call "safe islands for babies" and Australia is considering its own safe-haven law.

Since 2007, the idea of a baby hatch has been slowly resurrected in India. There are already some baby hatches operating in India, in the state of Tamil Nadu. A United Nations Population Fund report explains, "Instead of resorting to female infanticide, parents who were unwilling to bring up their female babies could place them anonymously in cradles located in noon meal centres, PHCs, selected orphanages and NGOs. Subsequent to their placement in cradles, babies were to be placed for adoption." Since the program's inception in 1992 in selected districts, some 390 boys and 2400 girls have been safely left, according to the Tamil Nadu government's directorate of social welfare.