The Indian Express         04.09.2013

To check thefts, newborns, mothers to be e-tagged

The civic administration initiative is part of the bio-baby
project that was approved in the standing committee meeting. The project
will be implemented on a pilot basis in the Kamla Nehru Hospital.

“The intention is to stop the cases of thefts, exchange of
newborn in the hospital and also check female foeticide,” said standing
committee chairperson Vishal Tambe pointing out the theft cases of
newborns.

He said the electronic registeration of each pregnant women would be done when she is admitted for child delivery.

The newborn and the mother would be registered with the hospital,
which would invlove taking impression of footprints of newborn and
fingerprint of the mother through electronic machine.

The wireless safety tag with coding would be put on the knee of
newborn baby and on the wrist of mother. The tags have a computerised
registration so every movement of the baby in the maternity home can be
tracked on computer. This will help in stopping the theft or exchange of
a newborn in the hospital.

“If the baby is taken to a distance more than 50 ft from the
computerised reading then there is automatic siren that alerts the
staff,” he said. The coding of the tag on baby and mother ensures that
there is no exchange of babies. The computer-registered impression of
footprint of newborn and fingerprint of mother will also help in
identification of the baby that is found after being stolen.

“The PMC will have 150 tags of which 20 would be used for civic
hospital staff and the rest for newborn and mother. The project would be
implemented at a cost of Rs 75 lakh and would be extended depending on
the performance,” said acting PMC health chief S T Pardeshi. Around 200
birth take place every month at the Kamla Nehru Hospital, the highest in
any of the civic hospitals, he said.