Fertility struggles plague many couples and can bring an incredible amount of physical and emotional pain. Some families try for years and never successfully become pregnant. Others might find themselves with an unplanned pregnancy and want their child to have a life they may not be able to provide. Every state has different guidelines, but all allow safe surrender of unharmed infants. As of March 2026, there are 425 Safe Haven Baby Boxes across the United States. The box at the Belen Fire Department in New Mexico created an unexpected, long-awaited family.
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The Safe Haven Baby Box Changed Several Lives
Firefighter Chris Martinez told People he and his wife, Janae, longed for a baby but struggled with infertility for years. When the station installed the Safe Haven Baby Box, Chris joked that he wanted to adopt the first baby surrendered. He had no idea his dream would come true so soon.
“I knew from the moment I saw him I wanted to be his dad,” Chris said, but the road was not easy. “He had five different drugs in his system and just a number of things. He had to stay in the hospital for almost two months.”
The couple faced ongoing challenges with New Mexico law and adopting the baby boy, but they did not give up.
“He didn’t have an identity, he didn’t have a birth certificate, he didn’t have a Social Security card. He didn’t have anything for a whole year,” Janae said. “It was hard, people not calling him by his name. He’s not a nobody, he’s somebody. He’s a Martinez.”
The couple ultimately adopted Mikey on March 10, 2025, and held a huge celebration. Thanks to his birth mother’s love and the Safe Haven Baby Box, they are now a family.
“We thank the mother so much for making the bravest decision, and I can’t even imagine. She wanted a better life for Mikey,” Janae says. “Just knowing that if he was not placed in that box — where would he be right now? That breaks my heart.”
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