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Footprint Comparison: Newborn
by THOMAS W. JONES, CLPE When I was contacted by the Kern Medical Center, Risk Management, Supervisor, and asked if I would do a comparison of baby footprints, I had no idea what I was in for. The mother of a newborn had somehow gotten hold of the bracelet of another baby and began to worry that perhaps a mix-up had occurred. It seems that there had been such a problem in her own family history and it had caused considerable grief, understandably. When they (Supervisor, Translator, Mother and Father) arrived, I immediately felt the tension between them. This was serious business and the mother was obviously distrustful of the risk management people. The father spoke only a little English but it was obvious that every time the Translator said something he was listening and reassuring his wife that the translation was correct. They presented me with the hospital records of two newborns and a sheet of paper with two extremely small footprints on it. The mother had printed “her” baby that morning. It's hard to explain my feelings when I looked at the prints on these records and the prints Mommy handed me — there were no ridges. The impressions were about the same as you would get if you printed tissue paper. There were, however, some “wrinkles” present, and I said a little prayer as I hurriedly tried to look at all three right root impressions at the same time. Eureka! There were some very individualizing “wrinkles” on all the prints. I have trouble characterizing these wrinkles as flexion or tension creases owing to their locations and the small amount of time these babies had to develop, what is thought of as, signs of age. The creases on the right foot of the baby which the hospital claims is the `right' baby, and those on the right foot of the, now, weeks old baby taken home the Mother, were exact. They are probably associated with the medial flexion creases but spread over the both the ball and plantar zones. Creases on the `other' baby's right foot were diagonally situated in the tibial area, with none recorded in the ball and plantar zones at all. The absence of other creases or wrinkles was remarkable, as were the shapes of the feet and toes. I made copies of the prints and, using a marker, I traced the creases to show the unique pattern created by those creases. I talked, the translator translated, the mother kept looking at the father who kept nodding. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Finally mother nodded, the tension left the room, and she began talking, for the first time since entering my office. It was obvious that she was satisfied. I told her she could keep the copies I had used in the study and asked if she wanted a written statement. She said yes because all the neighbors were aware of her fears, and she wanted to prove to them that the problem had been solved. I did not arrange for another examiner to look at the prints, because to do so would, in my estimation of her mental condition and lack of understanding, appear to be indecision. She needed to know positively that this is her baby.
This article was printed in “THE PRINT” |