Miracle of birth meets miracle of high speed Internet

The maternity ward at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn participated in an amazing four-hour web cast of Staten Island native Jeannine Cintron's delivery of her son Michael James. The birth was beamed thousands of miles to the child's father Michael, a 26-year-old member of the First Supply Battalion S6 in Iraq.

"He got to see our son first from 6,000 miles away," Jeannine marveled. "He actually saw the baby before I did. They put the Webcam up to the side with the baby."

This is yet another example of one of the benefits of telemedicine that is only available with high speed Internet. Streaming of a live video feed demands a high speed network -- whether it's a proud father watching the birth of his child thousands of miles away, or specialist doctors examining and diagnosing patients in isolated parts of the country.

We've talked in depth about the many advantages of high speed Internet in the area of health care, but this potential is only available to a fraction of people in the U.S. Jeannine Cintron recognizes this disparity and appreciates her opportunity to take advantage of this new technology:

"This is surreal," Jeannine said. "I didn't expect this. I feel so blessed. There are so many women in my situation that don't have this."

It's time to provide all Americans with the ability -- like Jeannine -- to improve their lives with high speed Internet.

Marine sees birth, thanks to 6,000-mile Web hookup (Daily News, Brooklyn) 

Benefits of Telemedicine are only possible with high speed Internet (Speed Matters)

Telemedicine (Speed Matters)