YANBU/RIYADH, 16 May 2008 — The abduction of several newborn babies from hospitals in the Kingdom this year has highlighted the problem of security at Saudi hospitals.
In January this year, a woman purporting to be a child’s grandmother abducted a newborn baby boy from a hospital in Jouf. The baby was kidnapped before his mother could even see him. The baby’s father announced a SR150,000 reward to anyone who could help find his son. Touched by the story, businessmen in the area also offered SR200,000 to anyone who could trace the baby.
Then in February, a baby girl called Shahad was taken from Riyadh’s National Guard Hospital just 24 hours after she was born. This time, the child’s father offered SR1 million to anyone who could provide details about his daughter. Both children have still not been found.
Stories such as these have left expecting mothers worrying about the safety of their children, especially since women are often not fully aware of their surroundings after they give birth.
Noaf Al-Shahrani, an expecting mother, told Arab News that abduction was a real threat that scares her. “Even baby swapping is something that scares me. It’s a real tragedy. It’s not just a problem for parents, but is a problem for the whole community. Nurses should be trained to ensure newborn children remain safe. I’m really worried,” she said.
Noura Al-Mansour, who is also expecting a baby, said she had similar concerns. “At the moment, I really do not know what to do. I think I will ask my mother to remain with my baby at the hospital,” she said.
Abdul Rahman Al-Dukhail told Arab News that he is going to take his expecting wife to a private hospital. “I would never risk taking her to a public hospital. This would jeopardize my baby’s safety.”
Arwa Al-Rikabi, another pregnant woman, mentioned that all hospitals should take necessary precautions to protect babies. “I think a family member should be designated to every newborn after delivery to make sure nothing untoward happens,” she said.
“I would not give birth in a hospital without making double sure my baby does not get mixed up with someone else’s. I’m looking for the highest security available. I would never risk my child for the world,” she said.
Khalid Al-Juhani, a Saudi citizen, believes hospitals must be secured and that the maternity wards should only have a single entrance. “It’s necessary that there are fixed and limited visiting times to ensure staff can monitor those that come and go,” he said.
“There should be women security guards on duty to check on female visitors. Both nurses and guards must share the responsibility of protecting newborns,” he added.
Abdullah Al-Mutairi, another Saudi citizen, said that it is worrying to think that a child could be kidnapped and brought up by other people while his or her parents are alive. “They could be used for begging. Maybe their organs are taken and sold. They could even be sold to couples who can’t have their own children,” said Al-Mutairi, who stressed the need for DNA tests before babies are officially registered.
Although many hospitals undertake several important precautions, many parents still visit hospitals with an eye of suspicion. Dr. Abdel Latif Rejjal, head of Neurology Department at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital, said that many hospitals have taken special security precautions in light of recent incidents. “Now hospitals would demand that people provide proof of identity before taking a newborn child,” he said.
“Recently, the neonatal nursery adopted a new policy restricting entrance to the nursery to only authorized staff. No visitors, apart from parents and close relatives approved by the parents, are allowed to see newborns,” he said.
He added that if there is an emergency, then alarms go off and all doors get automatically locked. “All entrances and exits get blocked, while security guards search for the missing baby,” he said.
Dr. Suzan Abdul Hameed of Al-Watani Hospital said that three identical ID Bands are prepared in the delivery room. “One is put on the hand of the mother, the second is put on the baby’s leg, blue for males and pink for females,” she said.
“When we release the mother from hospital, she is not allowed to take the baby unless the two bands are identical. The father is not allowed to take the baby without showing us the mother’s band,” she said.
Dr. Abdul Hameed said that only nurses and hospital personnel are allowed to enter nurseries. “We have extra security and monitor babies using security cameras,” she said.
Dr. Adnan Al-Maghrabi, executive manager of a private hospital in Yanbu, said that they monitor babies by ensuring they have bracelets on their wrists with their mother’s name on them. “We only allow mothers to take babies out of hospital,” he said, adding that only nurses are allowed in nurseries.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Saidi, head of the Health Affairs in Yanbu, said that the moment a mother enters the delivery room, nurses note down all her information. “A bracelet placed on a tag containing the information is put on the baby’s hand,” said Saidi, who added that only the parents are allowed to take the child out of the hospital.
“There is always a security guard at the entrance of the nursery,” he said, adding that the Yanbu General Hospital will soon move to a new building, which will have cameras and doors that will only be opened with security numbers.
Arif Al-Udaila, who works for a specialized security company, said that there are new types of technology available in the market to track abductions in hospitals. “Take for example magnetic bracelets that beep if a baby is taken out from an authorized area,” he said.
“Such technology would help security guards discover an abduction before it is too late,” said Al-Udaila, adding there was a need to have qualified and alert security guards.
Adil Al-Silmi, who is computer teacher and has special interest in security features, said that the Internet is full of websites that specialize in different security tools that would be useful for use in hospitals. “We are all familiar with such tools used in stores to prevent thieves. Telecommunication companies have also developed similar systems that can be used in health establishments,” he said, adding that radio-frequency identification tags and the infant and parent matching security systems would be of particular use.
A source at the Ministry of Health in Riyadh said that they are now undertaking a study to implement new security measures at nurseries of different governmental hospitals.
“The study will be completed in the near future and its result will be implemented at all government hospitals in different regions,” said the source.
He added that stories of baby abductionswere isolated and could not be considered a “phenomenon.”
