When it comes to giving birth, just like having a really dramatic haircut, you'd probably like to be in the hands of a professional.
So what if we told you that there was a special Hello Kitty maternity hospital in Taiwan? You may have heard about the hospital when it first opened its doors in 2009. Hau Sheng Hospital is decorated from floor to ceiling in Sanrio's most famous character's honour.
A pink and plastic palace of cat-themed ephemera, a hallowed and sacred shrine to the mouthless cat we just know as Kitty, where you can give birth to your child. A ginormous statue of Hello Kitty as a doctor (reassuring, no?) graces the hospital's entrance hall. New born babies will be welcomed by doctors and nurses wearing Hello Kitty patterned aprons, put in pastel pink vanity units, and wrapped up in feline towels.
The hospital's owner, Tsai Tsung-ji, was persuaded by his wife and daughters to approach Sanrio about opening a special Hello Kitty themed hospital. Tsai told The Telegraph that he'd opened the hospital in a bid to ease nervous mothers: "I wish that everyone who comes here, mothers who suffer while giving birth and children who suffer from an illness, can get medical care while seeing these kitties and bring a smile to their faces, helping forget about discomfort and recover faster."
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Because of the cartoon's infantile connotations, it's unsurprising that the hospital received a somewhat wry reception in mainstream Western media when it opened its doors, but would we really blink an eye if Apple began to open up nurseries or Coca Cola opened a chain of opticians? Plus, is this surprising considering the Hello Kitty franchises that already exist? From a potential Hello Kitty movie in the pipeline, to Hello Kitty's London cafe and China's Hello Kitty theme park, the world's been marked by this cat's footprint.
Want a better feel for the only Hello Kitty Hospital in the world? Please watch the bizarre VHS style video of which, we barely understand a thing, but the visuals are giving us life, and, you can actually see inside the maternity ward.
Hello Kitty for Queen.