How are the protocols in maternity hospitals to avoid kidnappings: goodbye to the ‘nest’ and babies and parents, always together

Most hospitals have alert systems that are activated at the slightest suspicion that there may be a theft of a babyIn some hospital centers they have even eliminated the turnstiles for visits and now you can go freely to visit a sick personThe Basque Health Service Health modified the security protocols in 2014 so that the heel and hearing loss tests, which are done on all newborns, were carried out inside the room with their mother in front. It is not the first time that this has happened in public hospitals in the Basque Country. In 2012 at the Donostia Hospital, a woman with mental problems kidnapped a newborn, who was located two hours later. Two years later, the event repeated itself. A woman in a white coat took a baby with the excuse of doing a heel prick test, but on this occasion she was detained before leaving the hospital’s neonatal ward. After this last case, the Basque Health Service modified the safety protocols in the maternity area so that the heel and hearing loss tests, which are done on all newborns, were carried out inside the room with their mother in front. Once again, after this latest kidnapping in Basurto, the Basque Ministry of Health has decided to take action on the matter and has reported that there will be changes from now on so that these events do not happen again. Pink codes The truth is that most hospitals have alert systems that activate at the slightest suspicion that there may be a theft of a baby, they assure NIUS from the Spanish Society of Neonatology. These alert systems are known as pink codes and when they are activated, the hospital staff must take a series of measures such as quickly notify security of the event, block exits, check stairs or identify all admitted patients. In all protocols security in maternity hospitals, the identification of babies is key. In this sense, the Standards Committee of the Spanish Society of Neonatology confirms that the “most reliable” method is to combine a neonatal coder in the mother’s bracelet and the newborn’s bracelet and cord clamp with the same number and with a code of identical and exclusive bars for each newborn, together with the collection of a sample of maternal blood and another of blood from the umbilical cord (for DNA analysis in case of doubt of identity only). Elimination of the nest In all public hospitals in Madrid, as in many others in Spain, there has been no nest for years. “This makes it much easier for parents to always be with their baby and makes any type of exchange, loss or theft difficult,” health sources assure NIUS. In the past, when the mother underwent a cesarean section, she would then go to resuscitation and the baby would be separated from her. In some hospitals, it was promoted that it was at that moment when the father began skin-to-skin with his son. Now, that has also changed and, even when the mother is in resuscitation, she does not separate from the child. If the mother is very seriously ill, the minor stays with her father. In addition, any tests carried out on children in hospitals must be accompanied by their parents and not just the caretaker. In all centers, doctors and practitioners must carry their identification cards or visible accreditations. “Hospitals are not prisons” Even so, other health sources assure that “hospitals are not prisons, but places with open doors so people can come and go. You cannot put a guard on each floor.” In some hospital centers they have even eliminated the visiting turnstiles and now you can go freely to visit a sick person. In that case, it is the patient or the family that must give you permission to enter the room or not, unless someone has restricted visits by medical prescription. “What has happened at the Basurto Hospital is something that does not usually happen. It is rare that someone swarms through a plant without anyone noticing. It is true that sometimes strange things happen, but it is not normal. There is no reason to be scared that they can steal your baby”, assure these same health sources.