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DOCTOR

Doctor vindicated in newborn’s death

There was nothing wrong with the care given to a newborn baby who died in September of last year at Astrid Lindgren’s Children’s Hospital, according to a report on the incident.

Doctor vindicated in newborn's death

“We’ve completed a comprehensive investigation,” said Staffan Blom, head regional supervisor with Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen), in a statement released on Tuesday.

“We’ve reviewed all available documentation and spoken with healthcare workers and the information we’ve collected is in accordance. We can’t see that there were any shortcomings in the care and handling of the little girl.”

The newborn’s death, which came to light in March of this year, prompted suspicions that the girl had been the victim of a mercy killing by one of the doctors involved in her care.

The girl was suffering from brain damage at the time of her death and a subsequent autopsy revealed that her death had been caused by an overdose of painkillers.

A scientific study has shown that the level of morphine found in the girl’s blood following her death has been found in other children who also died while fighting for their life in intensive care.

However, the Board of Health and Welfare found the forensic analysis of a blood sample taken during an autopsy of the girl also revealed a high concentration of the anaesthetic Pentothal, which is abnormal.

“We have no explanation for that and we won’t speculate about possible causes. Our examination has been concluded,” said Blom.

The doctor who administered the drugs was arrested at the hospital in March and remanded into custody by the Solna District Court on suspicion of manslaughter. She was released three days later.

The prosecutor believed that the doctor had carried out a mercy killing in order to ease the girl’s pain, by actively giving the baby a lethal injection of morphine and Pentothal.

The girl had been born prematurely and suffered from a lack of oxygen. In her second day of life, a nurse also administered too much sodium to the girl by mistake.

A subsequent ultrasound revealed that the newborn had suffered from cerebral haemorrhaging on both sides of her brain.

A number of doctors actively supported their accused colleague and questioned the handling of the case by police and prosecutors.

The current prosecutor in the case, Peter Claeson, has previously said that he would wait for the health board’s findings before deciding whether or not to file formal charges.

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CHILDREN

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?

Each year for more than three decades, the Federal Statistical Office has been publishing the first names of infants born in Switzerland the previous year. It seems that foreigners favour names that are typical of their national background.

What names do foreign nationals give their babies in Switzerland?
Foreigners give their babies names that reflect their nationality. Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels

As The Local reported on Wednesday, the most popular names for newborn girls born in Switzerland in 2020 were Mia, Emma, and Mila.

For boys, Noah took the top spot, ahead of Liam and Matteo.

REVEALED: The most popular baby name in each Swiss canton

But what about the most popular names among various nationalities living in Switzerland?

The answers come from the same study.

Italy

The top name for boys of Italian parents is Giuseppe, followed by Antonio and Francesco. For girls, Maria is in the first place, Anna in the second, and Francesca in the third.

Portugal

There are many Portuguese immigrants living in Switzerland and, like their Italian counterparts, they like to give their children traditional names: José, Carlos and Manuel for boys, and Maria, Ana, and Sandra for girls.

Spain

Spanish names are similar to those of Portuguese babies.

José, Juan and Jose are most popular boy names, while Maria, Ana and Laura are in the top three spots for the girls.

Turkey

Most boys of Turkish descent are named Mehmet, Ali, and Mustafa. Among girls, Fatma, Ayse, and Elif dominate.

Kosovo

Arben, Vallon, and Bekim are top names for boys, and Fatime, Shquipe, and Merite for girls.

Macedonia

Bekim is in the first place for boys, followed by Muhamed and Fatmir. Among girls, Fatimr is in the lead, Sara in the second place, and Emine in the third.

Serbia

Aleksandar, Dragan and Nicola take the first three spots. For the girls, Jelena, Maria and Snezana are at the top.

Can you give your baby any name you want?

Not in Switzerland, you can’t. It’s important to keep in mind that the cantonal registry offices, where new births must be announced, don’t have to accept very unusual names.

Several years ago, for instance, a Zurich court ruled that parents can’t name their infant daughter ‘J’.

In another case, a couple in the canton of Bern were ordered to change the name of their newborn son because their choice – Jessico – was considered too feminine. 

Several names have been forbidden in Switzerland, including Judas, Chanel, Paris and Mercedes. 

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