When my two kids were born at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco in 1984 and 1986, they were reported on the "It's a Boy!" card on the bassinet as 3690 g and 4390 g respectively. That's all I remember. I still do not know what they were in colonial units and I never remembered their length.
Kaiser did this for two reasons. 1. The California birth certificate used, and uses, grams only. 2. Proper dosing of medicine if needed. The proper units had to be on the card the nurses and doctors would see. If the parents wanted colonial measure Kaiser would write a separate card and give it to them. Carleton -------------- Original message -------------- From: Stephen Humphreys <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> My brother's girlfriend had their first child in November. His (the baby, not my brother!!) weight was expressed in lb and oz although I would have thought that if they had asked for it they could have been told the metric values too. > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [USMA:40049] Re: Hostile reactions to "speaking metric". > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:59:13 +0000 > > The norm in the UK is for the medical records to be kept in metric units, > but for some reason weights seem to be published in imperial units. My own > children are now in their early 20's, but what I recall is that when they > were born, I was given their weights in metric units. I don't know if > things have regressed since then. > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Michael Palumbo > Sent: 14 January 2008 17:14 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:40047] Re: Hostile reactions to "speaking metric". > > Paul, > > A valid theory, absolutely. Once Megan apologised for yelling, I asked > her whether or not it had anything to do with the fact that it was a > baby. Her curt response was, "No, I don't care that it's a baby, you > just sound like a d**k." > > And there you have it. I'm more inclined to believe that because she > can't translate from wombat to metric, that she thinks I'm insulting her > intelligence or belittling her, hence her aggressive, brash reaction. > > Cheers, > -Mike > > Paul Trusten wrote: > > Michael, > > > > I think Megan reacted to your metricating a /baby. /If you had > > metricated a purchase of kumquats or the area to be occupied by some > > new linoleum tiles, I don't think she would reacted as viciously. I > > understand that, even in some metric countries, babies are WOMBATs at > > birth. Somehow, people think the humanity of birth is taken away when > > the child's units of mass/weight are stated in SI. When it comes to > > the celebration of a new baby, pounds and ounces seem to be > > appropriately warm and fuzzy, while kilograms and grams seem to be > > madly scientific, or, controlled substance contraband (/Flying into > > Los Angeleez, bringing in a couple of keys/) . > > > > Thank you for posting this. It is a very important issue in our quest > > for U.S. metrication. I try to be prepared for reactions like this, > > but the ugly head of metrophobia surfaces so quickly upon mention of > > metric in the U.S. that I surely do have to be bit prepared when I > > make a metric remark. When I do it, I often am made to feel as if I am > > one of the African American students who first sat at the Woolworth's > > lunch counter down south in 1960. > > > > I would that metric is as simple as our decimal dollars and > > cents---or, would Megan like to return to the pounds, shillings, and > > pence of our colonial days? Your goal with encounters like this is to > > appear to explain this as a matter of fact, and not as a lecture, so > > the recipient will feel, "Gee, where I have I been? Do my friends know > > this?" > > > > Although we in the U.S. do use the metric system,we don't use it often > > enough, and the result is that we /mis/understand it, not /fail /to > > understand it. The solution to misunderstanding is education. That's > > why USMA supports the teaching of the metric system exclusively > > (i.e., no more teaching inch-pound units) in America's schools. If > > Congress says metric is preferred for commerce, it should be preferred > > for learning as well. > > > > > > Paul > > > > > > Michael Palumbo wrote: > >> Has anyone else had something like this happen to them? > >> > >> Last week, my coworker's wife had a child, and we did the "guess the > >> gender and weight" contest that we always do in our office. > >> > >> I guessed an even 3000 grams, and was the closest; the baby was 2981 > >> grams. I had to translate the numbers for a few people, but no one > >> really minded that I submitted my answer in metric. > >> > >> Last night, I was recalling this story to my friend Megan while in > >> the car, and her reaction to it was *this* shy of violent. She began > >> screaming at me, telling me how much of a (insert various four > >> letters words here) I am for using a system that no one else > >> understands. Her basic points were, if I ascertained them correctly > >> in between her ranting: > >> - "No one" understands the metric system, therefore it's off-putting > >> for me to use it. > >> - It's "extremely rude" to speak in a manner that people don't > >> understand. > >> - It's "moronic" and stinks of me just trying to "be different and > >> weird for the sake of being different and weird". > >> > >> I told her that I wasn't going to listen to her insult me, dropped > >> her at her house, and left. > >> > >> I cannot, for the life of me, understand that type of reaction. My > >> office-mates, even when they don't directly understand it, have a > >> pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Rather than try to learn > >> something new, Megan's reaction is what I fear may be typical of many > >> people in this country. Either you act like everyone else, or you'll > >> be branded a nut-case. Never mind that most of the world uses this > >> system, never mind that the foreigners in this country use it, never > >> mind that the doctor who delivered the baby used it, *I* am not > >> supposed to because it makes her think, and she can't handle that. > >> > >> Regards, > >> -Mike > >> > >> > >> > >> > > > > -- > > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > > Acting Secretary > > The Pharmacy Alliance > > Midland TX 79707-2872 USA > > +1(432)528-7724 > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePharmacyAlliance > > > > > > > Everything in one place. All new Windows Live!
