[Abandonment-adoption: experience at the neonatology service of the University Hospital Center in Sousse, Tunisia].

We studied the outcome of 178 newborns abandoned in the maternity hospital of Sousse, Tunisia during the past eight years. The natural mothers are frequently very young: 40% less than 20 years of age, 10% less than 16 years. In most cases (65%), there is no medical supervision of the pregnancy. There is a high rate of pathological deliveries (11%) and a small for date infants. As a consequence of a long hospitalization in neonatal unit, these infants have important morbidity and mortality. The minimum annual adoption rate is 77%. Most adoptive parents are middle class Tunisians and the large majority of adoptions are successful.