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Police search the Ocshenbine home on Sept. 15 after the mother was stabbed and one-week old daughter abducted, an event which may have led the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to ask for more caution for infants.

Infant abduction is a form of kidnapping, one in which a newborn child is taken; this crime is on the increase nationwide.

Since 1983, more than 240 infant abductions have occurred nationwide, with none in Idaho, reported Oname Thompson with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. At least four of those kidnappings were linked to newspaper announcements.

In response to this disturbing trend, the NCMEC is urging hospitals across the country to remove birth announcements from local newspapers.

Local Idaho hospitals are moving to do just that. As of Oct. 23, Madison Memorial Hospital joined in the decision to not announce births.

“We have been asked to do this by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children for infant security in our community,” said Tammy Ferney, manager of the Family Maternity Center at the hospital. “We made this decision based on the recent national rise in infant abductions in the home.”

As a regional health care facility, the Madison Memorial Hospital serves five counties in eastern Idaho. In Madison County, there was one reported case of kidnapping in 2005, according to a report from the Rexburg Police Department. The NCMEC has no reports of infant abduction occurring in Idaho in the last 23 years.

Despite this, Ferney said there is still good reason to increase safety.

“We realize that listing the family’s information in the newspaper provides any potential abductor with the name of a family with a newborn. From there, all the abductor needs to do is look up the address,” she said.

Experts say that vigilance is key for parents who want to protect their infants from abduction. A publication from the NCMEC, titled What Parents Need to Know, lays out a variety of steps parents can take, including keeping a parent or trusted family member with the child at all times, identifying any hospital personnel that attend to the child and being wary of any visitors.

Parents can further protect their families by avoiding any displays or signs announcing the news of a birth. Such announcements call attention to the home, making it a prime target for would-be abductors.

Those looking for further information should contact the NCMEC by visiting the Web site at www.missingkids.com or by calling the toll-free number 1-800-THE-LOST.