Saskatoon doctor advocates for angel cradle

The discovery of a baby in a dumpster near 25th Street and Fourth Avenue in Saskatoon last week has sparked discussions in the city about the need for a safe, anonymous baby dropoff spot known as an angel cradle.

For one doctor in the city, the talk of Saskatoon getting an angel cradle hits close to home.

In July of 1978, John Dosman was left in a box outside of St. Paul’s Hospital. He was taken in and soon adopted.

He said his obvious connection with angel cradles is how he has become a strong advocate for one in the city.

“That is kind of the role I’ve taken on and I agree that is a piece of my story that I am missing some of that medical history and that ancestral and cultural history and I wouldn’t mind knowing that stuff,” he said.

“But at the same time, I’m pretty glad that it was July and not November and I was left in a place where I’d be found quickly and I was adopted into a very great family.”

According to Dosman, the concern for the cradles for some, like social services, is that they might become a replacement for adoption. But he doesn’t believe that argument has much validity.

“Vancouver has had an angels cradle there for nine years and they’ve had two or three children left in it and Edmonton’s had it for about five years and they’ve had one child left. So it’s not like it opens the floodgates for women who are just wanting to anonymously leave children places,” he said.

“This is for people who are really not connected in with the system who are not going to be connected with the system and who are alone and have no supports and this might be their only option.”

Dosman believes the low usage of angel cradles in other cities shouldn’t stop Saskatoon from implementing one because the cost to operate it is extremely small.

“It might not get used, it might get used once in a decade but it’s not like there is a big cost to implementing something like this. There is an upfront construction cost to put the actual angel cradle in the wall of a building but other than that it is pretty maintenance-free,” he said.

“So it’s not a cost issue and if it saves one life in 10 years I think that’s probably worth it.”

The Sanctum Care Group has plans in place to put an angel cradle in the back of its building on Avenue O South.

However, the Government of Saskatchewan still wants more information before it gives Sanctum Care group its support in building the cradle.