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One Indiana hospital is hoping to make the experience parents have with a newborn a little bit more personal by offering crocheted baby blankets instead of the traditional striped, cotton blankets that so many babies are swaddled with after their arrival. And in addition to the blankets, they're even distributing handmade hats, booties, and scarves to keep the newborns all warm and snugly. Aww -- isn't that adorable and sweet?
The gesture sounds innocent enough when you first hear about it, but when you find out who is actually making these cozy items, the whole idea becomes kinda creepy. Think about it for a second -- sitting around and knitting all of those baby pieces sure takes a lot of time. And there are certain people in this world who literally have nothing but "time" on their hands. So -- who exactly is creating the blankets?
Prison inmates.
Yup, the blankets donated to this maternity ward are made by none other than inmates from a nearby prison. Inmates! As in, convicted criminals, who may even be in jail serving life sentences.
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How cute and sweet do those blankets sound now? The idea of wrapping your perfect little bundle of joy in something that was created by a criminal is incredibly creepy. Newborn babies are the epitome of innocence, so the fact that they are being given something that was touched by prison inmates really kind of contradicts the whole birth experience.
I can't help but wonder whether the hospital discloses where the items came from before presenting them to parents. Because they definitely have a right to know. Some may be more willing to accept them regardless of who was behind the crocheting, but odds are good that plenty of parents won't exactly warm up to the idea of accepting something from a prisoner. And I'm sure that many moms and dads would be upset if they weren't notified about the origination of the blankets before swaddling their darling babies in them.
Having programs for prisoners where they engage in activities to give something back to the community is all well and good. But somehow newborn hospital wings just don't seem like the best fit for their efforts.
Would you allow your baby to use a blanket or other item that had been made by a criminal?
Image via Saké Puppets/Flickr
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