A Norwegian hospital plans to equip all newborn babies with anti-theft alarms to protect them from kidnappings and help avoid identity mix-ups.
“The main reason is that we want to emphasise security,” Erik Normann, head of the Akershus University Hospital near Oslo told AFP.
“There was a period in which Norway experienced several infant kidnappings and that is something we want to avoid,” he said.
The alarm system consists of two small chips, one attached to a bracelet clasped around the baby’s ankle as soon as it is born and the other stuck on the mother’s bracelet.
When the two chips are separated by a certain distance the alarm is set off. If a woman tries to leave with a baby who is not her own, or if someone tries to rip the bracelet off an infant, the hospital doors automatically lock shut and the hospital elevators grind to a halt.
A maternity unit in Shropshire has found a way to monitor their babies 24-hours a day by introducing an electronic tagging system for newborns. This technology seems to be gaining popularity.
I wish that North American hospitals would consider trying this as well.
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