Infant Security

UCLA Health diligently enforces strict security measures to protect your baby from unlikely events such as an abduction. Please familiarize yourself with the following precautionary measures to secure your newborn’s safety.

Staff Identification

All hospital personnel must prominently display a UCLA Health identification badge. This badge shows the authorized staff member’s name, title and department. All maternity staff badges will include a pink stripe. If you are unsure about a staff member, please ask a nurse to verify the person’s identity.

Baby Bracelets and Security Tags

As soon as your baby is delivered, two bracelets will be placed on your baby’s wrist or ankles. The bracelets are marked with a five-digit code, your baby’s sex, birthdate and time, and the mother’s name. For further identification verification, you and your support person will also receive a bracelet with the same information that is listed on your baby’s bracelet. Your bracelet and your baby’s bracelet will be matched and verified throughout your stay and before leaving our hospital.

In addition, an electronic security tag is attached to your baby’s umbilical cord clamp, which contains an electronic security sensor. This will activate an audible alarm if the baby is taken out of the Maternity Unit. A hospital-wide system is in place to respond to this alarm. Babies in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are continuously monitored by the staff and will receive an electronic security tag when they transition from the NICU to our Well-Baby Nursery.

Video Surveillance

Most areas of our hospital, including the Maternity Unit, exits, stairways, elevators and hallways, are under 24-hour video surveillance.

Transporting Your Baby

All babies are transported in their bassinets. Staff members and parents may not carry babies out of the rooms in their arms. Please stop anyone who tries to do so or contact your nurse immediately.

Walking in the Halls

You may walk in the hallways with your baby as long as your baby remains in his or her bassinet. If your baby’s umbilical cord clamp accidentally sounds the alarms located at the exits, a staff member will verify your identity. As an extra security precaution, we ask that you do not leave your baby unattended at any time, even when you use the bathroom or shower in your room. If a family member is not available to watch your infant, please ask your nurse to watch your baby until you return.