VANCOUVER - Desperate mothers in Alberta who feel they can't keep their newborns may be delivered a new option modelled after a young safe-haven program in Vancouver that has successfully taken in one child.

The doctor who launched the Angel's Cradle program at downtown St. Paul's Hospital in May confirmed this week an infant only a few days old was left in its alarmed bassinet in mid-July.

"There was such a hoopla when we opened (the program) and the alarm was going off all the time for people looking at it," said Dr. Geoffrey Cundiff. "I think there was some surprise when they went and found a healthy baby there."

While the parents had left some details about the child's ethnicity and its family history, Cundiff said there was no indication as to why they chose to walk away.

Neither hospital employees nor Vancouver police made any effort to track the mother down.

"I think everyone was pleased that it went as smoothly as it did," Cundiff said, though adding they view the program as the "fallback" for mothers who don't realize there is a wide range of social services they can turn to first.

Inspired by the unique-in-Canada initiative, Covenant Health in Alberta is now looking at whether the need exists for such a program in that province.

"Has there been a baby left on our doorsteps? No," said Gordon Self, a vice-president of Mission, Ethics and Spirituality. "But as people tell their story -- when you're in conversation with these patients and see their case history -- you may begin to ask some questions.

"We don't want to just jump in there, but we don't want to look away if there is a need."

Self said he'll be meeting with doctors like Cundiff next week during an unrelated trip to Vancouver to explore the program more fully. The legalities of such a program, and logistics of partnering with local social services would all have to be worked out too.

If the similarly faith-based healthcare providers chose to go ahead, Self said they might try it at one of the large Edmonton hospitals that has a good obstetrics ward, like Grey Nuns Community Hospital.

Opponents of such a program fear offering the option could generate a rise in abandoned babies, but Cundiff and Self disagree. And Catholic healthcare has a historic tradition of nuns looking after unwanted children, Self said.

"It's nothing that's a radical departure from what's happened in history. But in our day and age, we want to be sure if you create something like that it's sustainable and manageable."

In Ontario, where no safe-haven programs exist, an advocacy group has erected posterboards throughout Toronto and the GO Train system with a photo of a dumpster and the words "Discarded babies die."

The group is trying to build public support for provincial legislation that would ensure mothers won't be charged if they give a baby away, said Ellen Campbell, founder of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness.

"It's a frustrating exercise," she said, explaining no politicians have been willing to step up.

Yet all 50 U.S. states have laws in place to allow an unharmed infant to be relinquished to the proper authorities, no questions asked, and that's led to more than 1,000 lives saved over the past decade, according to the American National Safe Haven Alliance.

"For us, the earliest stage of abuse is to throw away a baby," said Campbell, whose group has buried infants that died after being tossed. "When I saw that first little white casket I thought 'This has to change."'