The Baby Hatch

On Carrer de les Ramelleres, in the heart of the Raval, is a building with an inconspicuous circular hole in its facade. This building, now partly occupied by city council offices, was once home to the Casa dels Infants Orfes (the House of the Infant Orphans). The wooden inlet was one of its most used facilities. When someone came to leave their baby, they placed him or her inside the wooden hatch and rotated it, allowing the anonymous and safe delivery of the child to the orphanage. To the left of the baby hatch, at eye level, there is a small slot that was used for almsgiving. 

Founded in 1583, as part of the Casa de la Misericòrdia—a charitable institution for people living in poverty—the building was later converted into an orphanage. The demand for orphanages was particularly high during the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th centuries when the majority of Barcelona’s working class lived in deplorable conditions.

No social support or childcare, coupled with long hours in the factory, meant that options for struggling families were few and far between. Abandonment was, in a sense, a strategy for survival—by the 19th century, it was practically impossible for a worker to maintain a family with the wages earned at the time. The lack of social acceptance of illegitimate children also contributed significantly to the demand for the orphanage.

Most of the women who gave up their babies wanted to be able to identify their children in the future. For this reason, some infants were marked with symbols on their thighs made with knitting needles or red-hot irons before being passed through the baby hatch. The Sisters of Charity, who ran the facility, also "identified" each baby by placing a piece of rope around his or her neck with a note registering the date of the child’s arrival. Although many hoped to one day reclaim their children, the harsh reality faced by the working class meant that the majority of babies left would never have contact with their parents again.

Originally published May 2017, updated May 21, 2022.