Breast feeding mix up
Imagine this scary scenario: Your newborn baby is missing from the hospital nursery and after a frantic search, you find the infant in another woman's room. The relief, however, is later replaced by horror when you discover that your baby had been breast-fed by another woman.
This is a situation that Suzanne Libby found herself in, according to The Washington Post. Libby and her husband found out that an aide at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington failed to match the baby's ID bands with the other woman's.
The article notes that it's hard to know how many breast-feeding mix-ups there are because states don't require hospitals to report them unless there is "serious harm."
The incidents also point to a larger problem of accurate patient identification -- a major cause of health-care errors. That is a particular risk with newborns, and experts say sleep-deprived mothers are sometimes confused: It can be hard to recognize a swaddled infant brought by the nursing staff for feeding in the middle of the night.
Has anything like this happened to you? How can hospitals beef up its patient identification system?
Categories: Babies and Toddlers, Child Safety, Health
Comments
It doesn't sound like the patient identification system was the problem. It sounds like reading was the problem.
Posted by: CatsMcGee | July 28, 2010 12:34 PM
Finding my baby had been breastfed by another woman wouldn't freak me out at all. But the switch would.
Posted by: Kayris | July 28, 2010 8:03 PM
I'm with Kayris on this one; I'm not even remotely close to "horrified" by the thought of someone else breastfeeding my baby.
Posted by: Kate | July 28, 2010 11:16 PM
Hi,
I am inviting everyone to come and celebrate World Breastfeeding Week sponsored by the Baltimore City Health Department WIC. To show support for breastfeeding moms and babies.
Date: August 5, 2010
Place: Druid Hill Park Reservoir, 900 Druid Park, Lake Drive, Baltimore, MD 21217
Call Lois Ecker at 410-396-9425 for more information
Posted by: Lois Ecker | July 30, 2010 10:13 AM
I wouldn't be horrified either. I think worse things can happen.
These kinds of mix ups can be prevented by introducing matching bracelets (with matching identification numbers) for moms and babies that are worn from the moment of the baby's birth to the time you leave the hospital.
Posted by: Fabi | August 2, 2010 6:52 PM
I wouldn't be horrified about someone else breastfeeding my infant, just concerned about the other mother's health status. But, I would be horrified if my breastfed infant was mistakenly fed formula. Far more harmful than someone else's breast milk. And, they did use the name tag identification system; the employee forgot to check the tags. This does happen occasionally, human error. We are all human.
Posted by: Geri RN IBCLC | January 1, 2011 5:01 PM