When I had my son, they gave him to me after running routine tests. She gave us the wrong baby! She looked horrified! Which didn't make me feel any better either. So, yea I believe it.
Hospitals put identification tags on babies immediately after birth to prevent this from happening. I don't believe the numbers in this "fact" for a moment.
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· 10 years ago
You have to realize that not every hospital does this
Lots- some hospitals don't have the money to be able to tag every baby
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· 10 years ago
Please find me specific hospitals that actually believe that identification tags for patients are an unnecessary expense. The burden of proof is on the person making the outrageous claim.
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· 10 years ago
It's not an outrageous claim; many places don't have to funds to be able to spend money on tags for babies.
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· 10 years ago
Just think about this- many third-world countries have thousands of people visiting them a day, with barely any funds at all. They won't be able to tag the babies because they have no means of doing so.
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· 10 years ago
Wiliaso, you are relying on a stereotype rather than providing evidence right now.
Sorry wiliaso, you may have been right 20 years ago, when the source of this post came out, in concerns to first and second world countries, but in third world countries the babies are almost always born at home and if you're lucky, a knowledgeable midwife is doing the delivery. Hospitals are a rare and often far away luxury that are only visted in times of life and death. That's why the death rate of infants in poor countries is so high, they are not coming into the world in a medical facility that can help if complications arise. But at least they're not being switched out.
Just because they have wrist bands means nothing mine had a band too with id numbers on it, still happened
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· 10 years ago
I'm not claiming that mistakes never happen. I just don't believe that it's anywhere near as common as the post says. Even if there is a temporary mix-up, identification tags provide proof and can be used to fix the problem.
No one here wonders how that statistic was calculated? If there were an accidental switch and no one knew, who would be able to track the number of 12 per day?
A simple search proves this is unfounded and based either on something printed in a fictional paper (WWN) or in chain letters. Or perhaps both. Either way this "uberfact" is uber made up.
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=541795