Research trip to Romania
Abandonment remains a major social problem in this country 
Interview with Cristina Vaida-Mézière, one of the participants in the trip, winner of the Foundation grant in 2001 and incumbent/ psychologist in the legal protection of young people since 2002.
Is child abandonment still a problem in Romania?
Abandonment remains a major social problem in this country. It takes on various forms: definitive child abandonment in maternity hospitals, paediatric hospitals, day nurseries, or simply in a train station or on the road; the placement of the child in an institution without a clear decision on the temporary or definitive character of the separation; chronic parental negligence, leaving their child alone so that he or she may find his or her own means of subsistence, if not their parents’. A great number of parents leave their children behind to find work in another country. A law has even been recently voted to force them to designate a trustworthy person to look after the children in their absence. Moreover, professionals are today reticent to employ the term abandonment. In the words of a nurse met during the trip, the children are simple “lost” or “left” by their mother for a year or two. As if an early and long-term separation did not have a psychological impact on the child! In short, the effects of totalitarianism on parenthood remain rife.
Have you noticed any improvement in the care of children?
A number of abandonment prevention programmes have been set up. Indeed, we visited a modern maternity hospital where maternal breastfeeding – meant to dissuade the mother from abandoning her child – is obligatory. Other improvements can be seen in the training of health care professionals who now seem to listen to young mothers more after childbirth. Despite everything, the parent-child bond remains fragile. It will take two to three generations for behaviour to change deep down. However, in Romania, indeed as in France, institutions cannot fully substitute parents without the child being emotionally deprived. At the same time, we must not forget that, in certain situations, placing the child proves to be essential (child abuse, psychopathology of one or both parents, etc…). Nevertheless, supporting parents and the parent-child bond, where possible, should remain, in my opinion, a priority.
What have else have you learnt from this research trip?
The exchanges within the group were very rich since it included midwives, nurses, paediatricians… Furthermore, we had the opportunity to discover a wide variety of places, giving us a very good overview of early childhood care in Romania. In this transitional country can be found very old soviet-like as well as very modern organisations. Finally, I was touched by the Romanian’s professional’s warm and thoughtful welcome.
