Baby Mix-Ups at Hospitals

* Regarding the baby mismatch at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange:

Mothers and their babies spend less time in hospitals now and know each other less well when they leave for home. The appearance of a newborn can change drastically in the first few days. Hospitals cannot rely on mothers to recognize their own infant.

In our multicultural society, we have mothers and employers who are not literate in English. Indeed, they may be literate in non-European languages using different types of letters--Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic.

Hospitals need a backup system and it need not be high-tech. Combinations of up to four shapes of up to four colors would yield enough non-letter codes to assure that no pattern would be repeated in most hospitals within a year. A mother whose identification bracelet has three red hearts adorning it is not likely to take home an infant whose band shows four yellow happy faces.

We must stop assuming that everyone reads or reads English. Those who do not are not all immigrants. Those who are illiterate become very adept at hiding their illiteracy, with sometimes tragic results. By recognizing this reality we can take steps to prevent tragedies.

ELLEN WRIGHT

Costa Mesa

* Re “O.C. Hospital Acts to End Baby Mix-Ups,” Feb. 23:

My son was born at St. Joseph Hospital in 1978.

While I was reading the morning paper he walked in the kitchen still half asleep, rummaging for food as usual. I found myself looking intently at him, and wondering, “Could it be possible?”

I bet I’m not the only mom in Orange County to experience this. Thank God for our family’s Italian heritage (and the stubborn streak from my husband’s side). He’s mine all right.

LAURIE McDANIEL

Garden Grove