Dr. Fatima Al-Jawan to (Al-Jazeera)

To preserve the births in our hospitals, strict procedures are constantly being developed, cries of pain launched by the mother, followed by the good news of the birth of a child that is an extension of the life of his parents, and every mother and father has the right to ensure the procedures followed to keep the newborn from mixing with other children by mistake or intentionally, No great and superior, through decisions, instructions, and even strict procedures to preserve newborns until they leave the hospital safely with their families.

In this investigation, we get to know the procedures used in hospitals by a decision of the Ministry of Health by wandering between the delivery rooms and watching the procedures followed on the ground.

Our old procedures are renewed

Al-Jazeera had a conversation with Dr. Fatima Yousef Al-Jawan, head of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Al-Yamamah Hospital in Riyadh, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, who holds the Saudi specialization and the Arab Board in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Our first inquiries were about the system followed in the private hospitals of the Ministry of Health and is it a new system? Dr. Fatima explained that the system is very old and it is not new, and that the procedures used to identify and preserve newborns are carried out with precision, commitment and firmness, and it begins first: Entry for the pregnant mother is through the emergency department and when she is admitted to her, a special identification bracelet is placed for the mother (including the name and number of the medical file And when it is decided near her birth, she moves to the delivery room to give birth to her baby with the file that was prepared for her, then he brings a special file for the child that goes to the mother''s file.

Then he brings two of the bracelets identical to the bracelet of the mother, including (the mother''s name, the medical file number and the date) with the mother''s question about the name, then read it in earshot from the mother to ensure its correctness and the mother''s left thumb is taken in the form for that in the child''s file.

Birth and footprint

When the child is born, the newborn is presented to his mother in a way that she can see his gender, and ask her about the nature of this newborn (his gender) before cutting the umbilical cord, and the question is repeated until she answers and then cuts the umbilical cord. Then Dr. Al-Jawan explained that after that a bracelet is placed for the child''s right leg And another for the left leg through the nurse who gave birth by herself. The prints of the baby’s feet are taken at the time of birth, and the person who did that is signed in the prepared form in the child''s file. This data is written by the nurse taking care to fill in the data very accurately.

Nursery and admission

The child is placed in a newborn room (nursery) in the delivery room with full identification.

Dr. Fatima explained that after that, the mother is transferred to the admission ward, and all her data and the data of her newborn are verified again, and this includes making sure of the mother by asking her about the gender of her newborn, then she is transferred to the admission ward and upon arrival to the hypnosis section, the nurse there checks the bracelets of each mother And the child and asking the mother personally about her name and the gender of her newborn (for the third time).

Caesarean delivery

As for our question about cesarean delivery cases, Dr. Al-Ja`wan replied that in this case she is transferred to the operating room and there will be a nurse for receiving the newborn and in the presence of the pediatrician as well, and she prepares two identification fences from the mother''s file, then receives the baby and puts the bracelets on his feet and provides him with the required care, she and the pediatrician. In the event that the newborn needs special care, a pediatrician is called to decide whether the child is transferred to the nursery department for newborns, and the nurses in the nursery department for newborns and the nurses in the nursery department who are coming to receive the newborn make sure that the child''s data and the completion of his file of nursing in the delivery room .

Shift and visit

And by asking about the rotation of working hours among the nurses, she reported that in the admission ward, the nursing staff performs each shift upon receipt and delivery every (8) hours to check the bracelets of each patient and the bracelets of the newborn by asking her about her name and the gender of her newborn and to make sure that it matches what she says, even if one of the bracelets is lost Or both, the nurse informs the head of the department to return it or make a new matching bracelet.

At the time of the visit to preserve the children, they are collected from the mothers ’rooms to the nursery room in the ward, and after the visit, the bracelets are re-examined for both the mother and the child.

Dr. Fatima said that before the mother leaves the hospital, there are exit procedures, which are to take prints of the feet of the newborn when going out for the second time and to expect the nurse who took them in the form in the mother''s file.

After confirming the bracelets and the gender of the newborn, it is handed over to the father, his name written and signed on that in a form for receiving the newborn, in which the mother''s fingerprint is also taken.

Meet mothers

To find out the mothers ’views on the exhausting procedures for preserving the newborn, we asked (Umm Yazid) about her opinion on the exhausting procedures. She said that she had a male child and that this is her second birth and she said: They followed the same procedures in the hospital of taking the child''s fingerprints and taking her thumbprint and we saw signs The blue print is on the hand and on the legs of the child, and another case is for a mother, symbolized by her name (S), and the same previous procedures were applied to the newborn, and this was the first child of her mother.

As for Umm Abdul-Rahman, she has two male children and this child is a joy for her and previous deliveries also in the same hospital, and she finds comfort and following the procedures very carefully, and our attendance was for the moments of the birth until the baby left and the necessary applications for him.

As we wandered between the delivery rooms, the head of the delivery rooms (PBUH) Al-Qahtani accompanied us, and we found her keenness to ensure that all procedures were completed.

There we met a group of midwives who were doing their homework meticulously: Manal Al-Enezi, Nawal Al-Rashidi, and Amal Al-Enezi.

Ministry of Health

Then we made an inquiry addressed to the Ministry of Health about the procedures followed to identify and preserve children. The Director of the Public Relations and Information Department at the Ministry of Health, Mr. Saad Al-Qahtani, informed us of the same procedures mentioned by Dr. Fatima Al-Jawan and confirmed that these procedures are not new and are followed in the private hospitals of the Ministry of Health and are followed strictly and firmly.