Waiting to do THIS Could Put Your Baby’s Health at Risk

How Your Baby’s Name and Baby’s Health are Linked

Although many parents want to wait to actually meet their child before deciding on a name, a new study shows that giving birth to an unnamed baby could lead to medical slip ups and put your baby’s health at risk. Turns out, picking a baby name is way more important than you thought.

In the study, when babies were labeled simply as “baby boy” or “baby girl,” which is how many hospitals identify infants who have yet to be named, the incidence of doctors ordering the wrong tests for the wrong babies went up. Another, earlier study, showed that more than one in ten NICU medical errors was caused by a misidentification issue. Sad but true? As hard as the medical team at your hospital works to make sure everything’s in order, people make mistakes.

So what can you do to avoid a hospital mix-up with your baby? Talk to your partner about baby names way ahead of time. Read all the baby naming books. Check out my posts on some fun and creative baby names. Yes, the responsibility of choosing what a person will be called is a huge one, and it can seem stressful, but it’s also a fun way for you to honor a loved one, or gift your child with a name that has special meaning to you.