Like most people, I was excited to learn that Beyonce was pregnant. During her pregnancy, I tried to catch as many glimpses of her baby bump on the rag mags as I could. You probably saw me flipping through a magazine or three while I waited to pay for my groceries at Publix. So when news broke this weekend that Beyonce and Jay-Z gave birth Saturday to their baby girl, Blue Ivy, I began perusing the web for details on the birth of the baby by the most private and talented duo in the music industry.
I’m a big fan of Beyonce’s music and not even a little bit ashamed to admit that I become mesmerized when I see her perform. Between all her dipping and shaking, it’s hard to look away when she is dancing, until she stops singing and starts talking, of course. (Not such a big fan of her oratorical skills but hey, we all have weaknesses, right?)
So as I scanned my favorite gossip sites about the news of her birth, I have to say I was disappointed and turned off by reports that she paid 1.3 million dollars to rent out the entire fourth floor of the private hospital where she gave birth. I couldn’t help but wonder how many beds were made unavailable to other moms that needed to have a baby that night. I assumed the hospital did the “right thing” by using some of that money to make additional beds available to other patients so that everyone could be comfortably accommodated.
But what really turned me off, were reports that parents that were at Lenox trying to visit their babies in the NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) were turned away by both Beyonce’s security staff and the hospital’s. As a mom that had her daughter spend 15 days in the NICU, I can tell you that being separated from your new born baby when he or she is very ill, is one of the hardest things you’ll ever have to go through as a parent. All you want to do is be with your baby. At the private hospital were my daughter was born, parents were allowed only 3o minute visits every three hours with their baby. The 30 minute schedule was a strict one, set by the hospital with the baby’s best interest in mind, of course. If you arrived late to your 30 minute visit, too bad, so sad. You had the time remaining on your visit, if any. The two-and-a-half hours in between each visit was grueling, especially when your child’s health can turn worse by the minute. You feel desperate and helpless; all you want to do is hold your baby. If she is being incubated or too fragile to hold like my daughter was, then you’ll be happy just to watch her lay in her little bed.
I could only imagine what it would feel like to be turned away if I reported for my 30 minute visit only to learn that a celebrity had pulled rank on my feelings and my time with my new born. If these reports are true, I hope all those patients complain and take any appropriate action available, if any. I would like to hear from these parents and wouldn’t be surprised if some of them began appearing in interviews over the next few days.
Or maybe I would be surprised.
If Beyonce would go to the extent of paying 1.3 million to maintain the privacy she has kept for all these years, she may be willing to pay an “additional fee” for any inconvenience these families may have experienced. (With a little note attached to the check by her attorney reminding the parents not to share their stories with anyone.)
At the end of the day, I realize that it was the responsibility of the hospital to ensure that this sort of thing did not take place. Still, I wonder how this story will turn out for Beyonce. Kim Kardashian’s “snafu” didn’t work out so well for her.
What do you think? Should we give Beyonce a hard time about this or just get over the fact that money talks and these other parents can go take walk.
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