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Should hospitals ban video cameras from the delivery room?

New parents often dream of capturing the first moment baby arrives on video. (Heck, where daddy should be standing to get the “perfect angle" is sometimes part of the birth plan!) Because in the blur of delivery, those early details – the first time the little one cries; the first time Mom holds him – are hard to remember.But now many hospitals have decided that recording in the delivery is

New parents often dream of capturing the first moment baby arrives on video. (Heck, where daddy should be standing to get the “perfect angle" is sometimes part of the birth plan!) Because in the blur of delivery, those early details – the first time the little one cries; the first time Mom holds him – are hard to remember.

But now many hospitals have decided that recording in the delivery is off-limits. Supporters of the ban say that doctors and nurses are busy focusing on the health of mother and baby, and if something goes wrong, cameras can be a witness. This means video cameras can force doctors to practice defensive medicine.

Of course, with smart phones and other camera-ready devices, the ban is difficult to police. And some hospitals just say the ban is in place at the actual time of delivery – not before or after.

What do you think? Did you have a camera up close and personal during the birth of your child?