New Jersey hospital digitizing newborn's footprints to keep babies safe and secure

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A newborn's footprint is usually a keepsake for the new parents from the hospital.

But now, that same footprint will be used to keep infants safe.

Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Jersey is the first in the tri-state to do it.

Eyewitness News Reporter Michelle Charlesworth was live on Facebook while inside the nursery in New Brunswick.

Little Abigail is just three days old and she is one of the most safe and secure babies in the country.

"I sort of always thought this existed, but hey, since we have the technology why not?" said Alicia Wojciechowski, Abigail's mother.

Now instantly, babies' footprints can be loaded into a hospital and later a police database.

There is no mess, no mistakes, and it is forever safe.

"The fact that there is that added security I like that," said Lucasz Wojciechowski, Abigail's father. "They give me peace of mind, and also I can make mugs, I can make a birth announcement, use it for different things, it's just nice to have that digitally."

The interesting thing is they are bringing together something we've always loved as a keepsake and marrying that with common sense! You know who had this idea? A nurse!

"It's digital, it's another added level of security and it is something that keeps these babies safe and something the parents can have forever," said Pamela Harmon, Nursing Director for Women and Children's Services at Saint Peter's University Hospital.

Harmon points out this is extra security on top of Baby LoJack. She first suggested it to the hospital six weeks ago and they jumped all over it! They average 23 babies a day at the hospital, and that is a lot.

"Our founder was asked by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children to come up with something that would provide extra security digitally for hospitals," said Richard Miller, CertaScan.

Police in the future in the case of a missing child would be able to find the information in seconds.

"Different people will use it in different ways, some getting a tattoo, jewelry, birth announcements," Alicia said. "I want to use it for birth announcements."

Welcome to the world baby girl!