Mother-Baby Pairing This sure sounds unbelievable, but reportedly, there were 20,000 cases of mother-newborn baby mismatches in one year in US hospitals alone! The main problem is, that all newborn babies look alike (at least to many people including me). It is difficult to distinguish one bundled baby from another, especially in a hospital ward where there may be tens of these “bundles of joy” kept together for a bath or whatever.
In many cases, if the mother has undergone a caesarian section, then she is likely to be under some kind of anesthesia. If a nurse carries away a newborn baby for its bath and then gets confused when she is to bring it back to the mother, she may put the baby in the wrong crib. Hence the a need for an effective pairing system between babies and their mothers.
RFID Solution Of Mother Baby Pairing:
To prevent mismatches between mothers & their babies one could easily use RFID tags designed for the purpose.The infant could wear a very small wristband, more like a bangle, which is embedded with an RFID tag inside.
This RFID tag has the same number as the one which the mother wears (also as a wristband or a large bangle).It could be a read only tag, with several data bytes, so there is no question of duplication of numbers at all. One could designate all even numbers as babies and all odd numbers as mothers, for example.Now, when a nurse takes away a baby for its bath or vaccination or whatever, she can bring it back to the mother without any problem as the RFID reader available with the nurse confirms that the baby is indeed returned to its own mother.
Advantages Of RFID Solution:
No mismatches between babies and mothers. Less stress for anxious mothers and sometimes even their fathers.
The RFID “bangle” tags on the mothers and babies can be linked to their entire medical history database in the hospital including blood groups, vaccinations done, any other medicines given, etc.
Future Scenarios Of Mother Baby Pairing:
Future of mother baby pairingThis may become the norm in all hospitals. The authorities may also mandate that this system be followed to avoid lost baby cases. Insurance companies may also insist on this system.
