Lake Forest Hospital Internet site makes greeting newborns a cinch

By Russell Lissau

June 15, 2000 Web posted at: 3:09 PM EDT (1909 GMT)

LAKE FOREST, Illinois (Daily Herald) -- Parents whose children are born at Lake Forest Hospital have a new way to show everyone pictures of their babies to loved ones - the World Wide Web.

The hospital's Web site now includes a virtual nursery that features photographs of newborns and information about them, such as height, weight and date of birth. The site also allows friends and relatives to send electronic congratulatory messages to the new parents.

"I wish they had this when my son was born," said hospital spokeswoman Anne O'Connell.

Hospital officials began posting the newborn information on the Web site last month. More than 80 photographs have been added to the site.The operation actually is run by a company called First Foto, which takes baby pictures at hospitals across the United States and Canada.

Because of security concerns, a child's last name is never shown on the site - the babies are identified only by first name, middle name and last initial. In addition, the photographs are posted only after a baby has been discharged from the hospital. "That's very important," O'Connell said. The service is free to parents, and it's also voluntary - if parents don't want their child's photograph released, it won't be. But parent reaction to the Internet nursery has been terrific, O'Connell said. "Parents have been very receptive," she said. "They can get the good news of their newborn's birth out quickly to their friends and relatives."

All you have to do to find a newborn is go to the hospital Web site, www.lakeforesthospital.com, click on the "Web Nursery" link and then enter the birth date or birth month of the baby you're looking for. Once the baby's name pops up on your screen, select it and you'll be treated to a colorful photograph and a short list of pertinent information about the child.

Annette Negrete McGinley of Round Lake was thrilled to put information about her baby, Brianna, on the Web site after she was born two weeks ago."It enabled us to get her (birth) announcement out sooner than the ones we were having printed," she said.

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