Child abandonment (at birth) is a rudimentary method of managing unwanted or unaccepted pregnancies, for cultural and/or economic reasons. Its existence or persistence in modern societies comes from the lack of certain services, functionality of some institutions, and a culture relating to their use.
As of 1967 Romania recorded a sudden rise in the number of abandoned children, especially at birth. The abandonment phenomenon, condemned by all governments, has been poorly managed, as its magnitude has not decreased for over 35 years.
While there has always been some child abandonment in Romania, as there has been in other cultures, there was no significant magnitude in time and space for this to become a part of tradition or to define a cultural specific of the Romanian people.
A pro-natalist demographic policy decree was issued in November 1966, and as of June 1967, children began being abandoned in maternity wards and hospitals/pediatric wards. As a result, child abandonment was perceived as a direct outcome of the pro-natalist decree, and remained as such in the collective consciousness until 1990.