Mother Given Wrong Newborn At Hospital For Breast-Feeding

[matcom]

<snip>

A newborn was given to the wrong mother for breast-feeding Saturday at Winchester Hospital, a mistake that hospital administrators said yesterday was ''terrible" and ''unacceptable" and resulted in the firing of the employee responsible for the mixup.

Doctors do not anticipate any health problems arising from the error for either the baby or the woman, hospital spokesman Mark Whitney said.

A sister-in-law of the woman who was given the wrong baby said last night that the child drank some of the woman's milk but that the woman has no health problems that could hurt the child.

Hospital maternity wards typically follow strict rules that require medical personnel to match the identification bracelet on the baby with ID bands worn by the mother or father before passing the child to the parents. That policy was violated Saturday morning, Whitney said.

''It's a terrible thing for both of the families involved," Whitney said. ''I don't think we can apologize enough to the families involved. What we can do is rededicate ourselves to making sure this kind of thing can't and doesn't happen again."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/10/26/breast_feeding_mixup_at_hospital/

[radwriter0555]

1. Nothing like a little over-reaction....

setting it up for a crazy lawsuit.

[Soopercali]

2. Gee, they used wet nurses all the time...

in the old days because so many mothers died in childbirth.

My, we're so delicate now.

[Lavender Brown]

10. The practice spread a lot of diseases though

I think that's how people got scrofula and other things unheard of today.

[Spinzonner]

3. If they would bar code them like they're supposed to

this sort of thing wouldn't happen

[China_cat]

4. What's the flap?

Wealthy families used to hire wet nurses for their offspring and were seen as somehow 'common' if a woman wanted to nurse her own baby.

[onebigbadwulf]

5. And they'll probably get a million dollars for it...

and hospital rates will go up, good care will go down, and the cycle will continue.

[SarahB]

6. Unfortunately...

while breast milk is the healthiest thing possible for a newborn, if a woman is HIV positive (or has hepatitis as well), she can transmit the virus through breastfeeding. It's something to be careful of in this day and age.

[MADem]

7. If they would change the way they do things

...and leave the babies with their mothers instead of sticking them in a department store window, this shit would not happen. Better for the baby, better for the Mom. Bonding, and all that happy stuff.

I never understood that prison business with the babies all lined up with bright light beaming down on them and people staring at them through a window. A dog wouldn't put up with that, why should people?

[SarahB]

8. Yeah, you're right.

I had c-sections and still did the rooming-in thing. I just kept them on my lap in bed with me and called for help when I needed it. I just wanted to be with them after they were born and it made me sad during the times they had to be in the nursery. Being away from newborns didn't feel natural to me. Unfortunately, the human race as become used to tuning out from our natural selves. Hello... we're still mammals, folks. Snuggle your babies. Cats and dogs seem to do better with this than many humans unfortunately at times. :(

[MissMillie]

9. I think a baby is more secure in the nursery.

I was awake all night, in labor, when I had my son. When I got to my room, the nurses would bring him to me to nurse, but because I was trying to catch up with my sleep, I was glad they kept him in the nursery. I sleep like a log, and anyone could have walked in and swiped him out of my room while I was asleep.

[kick-ass-bob]

12. The birthing areas in these hospitals are

locked down - only the desk station can open the doors to let anyone in.
The only people there are other mothers' and families - and no babies are going to get taken past the desk without someone noticing.

[Love Bug]

11. The problem isn't the breast feeding

The problem is the fact a baby was handed over to a total stranger. Hospitals have very strict rules regarding who gets the baby. They are supposed to check the wrist band of the mother and baby every single time the baby is brought into the room.