Data of a Newborn

In April, I was promoted to Mother, and amid the joy that my child brought to my world, I couldn't help but notice the vast amount of data collected about the baby and how I consented to its collection for the baby's good.

You read that correctly.

The Author's photo was traced by the Author using Procreate. **Image cannot be distributed or used to train models.

When the baby was born, the hospital took note of a bunch of parameters. All parameters were, in my honest opinion necessary to ensure that everything is alright. Yes, I asked questions about each metric, for what purpose was it collected and what is the growth curve expected. I also noted that most times, there is a Data Privacy declaration.

The data was taken manually but was eventually inputted in a system, in digital format. Such information can then be accessed by a GP or Paediatrician as would be necessary.

Note: In Malta, the process of allowing such access is done by signing a consent form whereby you give permission to your medical professional to view and gain access to the medical records. Once an individual signs, then any individual can know the results by asking their trusted medical professional without visiting their clinic. It is convenient and practical. There is however one condition I need to make clear. In Malta you can have one GP throughout your life as opposed to other countries where a GP may differ according to your residential address. During the first days of my baby's life, the data collected included:

• Birth Weight

• Date & Time of Birth

• Place of Birth

• Parents' names & address

• Circumference of Head

• Length

• ECG checked ever so often

• Respiratory rate checked ever so often

• Temperature

• Date & Time of Discharge

• Blood samples for some checks

• Feeding preferences

to name a few. Again I repeat that this was necessary to monitor the growth and so on.

As a preacher in favour of data privacy and only necessary data ought to be collected with proper protection, I find myself in a pickle. I want to know everything there is to know about my baby, but somehow I need to find a way to protect his data. In today's digital age, I admit that

I feel helpless, like I have no choice but to consent.

As if that wasn't enough, I began looking at phone applications to track my baby's progress such as the number of diapers and its content (hehe fun!), feeding times and type of feed! Most applications are free and those that aren't are inexpensive. Yet I know that if the product is free, then you are the product. In other words, whatever I use, the more I share about my baby the more data will be out there. There are also monitors that could be attached to the baby's foot like a sock, and it constantly monitors heart rate, breathing and much more. Again, that means that the data will be stored somewhere and for as long as an application is either free or cheap to use (or without any data privacy declaration), then I know that my son becomes the product.

Needless to say, I felt and remain frustrated. I also tried manual tracking but when you are new to motherhood, the first thought is not "let me write this data down" especially at 3 am, but rather trying to understand your baby's cue. It is not easy to decipher the code and at times all cues begin to sound the same. For a new mother it can be difficult to accept the "trial and error" phase and it would be great to have all this written down, or have a solution that would track all of it, ideally automatically (hint: AI?).

How can I keep my baby safe against data theft and all that comes with it? I refuse to post photos of him and shared photos only via encrypted means (yes I know that I can't vouch for that either) with people I trust using private messaging. When I think about everything that AI can do with just a couple of photos, it makes me anxious to post on social media but I am an adult and can make informed decisions.

"Keeping my baby safe" brings with it a whole new level of thoughts and conflicting opinions. When I think that my child will venture into the world, and I won't be by his side every second of the day, it makes me think of ways to protect and monitor his whereabouts. Right now, the only thing keeping me from installing a chip in my son's arm, is my sanity telling me that I can't control everything around me and I can't keep him in a bubble. Thankfully my sanity seems to be intact. All I can do is teach him how to protect himself, and his data from online predators and hope that it would be enough.

Protecting an adult's data is one thing because to some extent the adult has access to the internet and therefore can educate themselves without requiring others to come through for them. But children rely on us and for parents or guardians it is not always a black and white choice. It is hard to decide.

And I still am contemplating.

If I lean in, and give in to the digital expectations, where does it end? If I don't, then am I risking my child's life knowing that there is a solution out there but didn't take it? How am I defining risk? What do I mean by risking my child's life? Is giving his data a big enough risk to not use a tool that could help me protect him? Is not using a tool and live blindly riskier than monitoring my child at the expense that his data remains online?

If any of you parents have asked these questions, I'd like to hear your thoughts. For now, I'm opting for old-school data protection for as long as it is possible. How long that would be, I don't know.