Wrong baby?

I've just read this article, linked here:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25350189-2,00.html

I must say I'm a little surprised. Not surprised that hospitals have tagged the wrong babies, or brought mothers the wrong babies from the nursery. I can totally see how that would happen from time to time. The ankle ID tags that my Tinker had when she was born would often fall off all the time in the hospital.

What surprises me is this bit:

In one case, a mother had to have HIV and other tests after being given the wrong baby to breastfeed.

So the nurse hands the mother the baby (the wrong baby) and the mother attaches the baby and feeds him/her. How could the mother NOT see that it wasn't her child?

Is it just me, or does that seem strange to you? I mean the minute I saw my daughter's face I recognised her. Not from the weird squiggly ultrasound images I'd seen but just... because. If you had taken her off me, even 5 minutes after giving birth (when it was fair to say I was in one heck of a state) I still would have known right away if you'd brought back the wrong kid!

There is no way I could have looked at her face as I fed her and not realised.Is it because my Tinker had a mop of flaming red hair? The only baby with hair that colour in the nursery? No. It was just that as soon as I saw her, I knew who she was. Sounds completely soppy and irrational. I know.

And I'm definitely not one for soppy or romantic. But that is the honest truth. Tell me, are there any other mothers out there who agree with me on this one? Isn't it odd?!

Mothers and babies

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about homebirths, freebirths and hospital births.

A lot of people think how a mother gives birth to her baby should be entirely her decision.

They tend to use the line the pro-abortionists use- "her body, her choice".

For me personally, a woman's body is her own. Yep I agree...UNTIL she becomes pregnant. Then she is also the guardian of her child's body as well.

So she must always make decisions in her child's best interest. That is what being a mother is all about.

So in my mind it is insane that any mother would choose NOT to be as close to a neonatal intensive care unit when giving birth to her baby.

Fortunately very few babies need admission to high dependency units like the NICU at birth, but some do. And often there is no indication prior, often low risk mums can go through very normal labours only to deliver a baby who requires life saving treatment immediately.

Why take the risk? Why deprive a new born of immediate access to this type of care?

I will never understand it.