New Mexico soon will have its seventh 'baby box' -- find out where

A new baby box is being installed in Farmington this week, making it the seventh Safe Haven baby box in the state of New Mexico.

To date, two babies have been surrendered in New Mexico through baby boxes — the most recent was a baby boy surrendered in Belen earlier this month.

Baby boxes are temperature-controlled and equipped with alarms to let first responders know that the box has been used. The boxes are meant to give parents an anonymous option for surrendering a newborn. After a baby is left in the box, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department becomes responsible for the infant.

Parents can also surrender an infant in person at a fire station or hospital.

“I pray over the lives that can be saved in Safe Haven Baby Boxes and am grateful we can provide a safe alternative for babies and parents in our community,” Farmington City Councilor Janis Jakino said in a statement.

“We are grateful for our community’s support of the safe haven laws and the safe haven boxes,” said Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett in a statement. “Both of these go hand in hand to ensure safe delivery of babies in times of crisis.”

The state’s first baby box opened in Española in February 2022, a month after an 18-year-old woman in Hobbs garnered national news coverage for abandoning her infant in a dumpster. The first baby surrendered at a baby box in New Mexico was in Hobbs in September.

The baby box in Belen was installed in October, and a box was installed in Roswell last week. The Hobbs baby box was dedicated in May 2023, and there are also baby boxes in Alamogordo and Carlsbad.

The Farmington baby box will be installed at Farmington Fire Station No. 2 at 3800 English Road.