Hello Kitty is just about everywhere you look these days, but who would have imagined it would become the theme of a maternity hospital in Taiwan? Images of the ubiquitous, mouthless kitty are stamped onto everything from nursing staff lapels to birth certificates.

The world’s first and only Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital in Yuanlin, Taiwan, was originally built in 2006 with a capacity of thirty beds. It is hoped that the Japanese cartoon icon will ease the stress of childbirth as well as boost business.

The Hau Sheng Hospital has been officially authorized by the popular cartoon cat’s parent company, Sanrio Co Ltd.

At the Hello Kitty Maternity Hospital, newborns get everything Hello Kitty imaginable including: a set of whiskers, pink or blue receiving blankets, nurses dressed in pink uniforms with kitty-themed aprons, kitty-themed linen and room décor.

If all of this isn’t enough to make you absolutely sick with Hello Kitty, in the hospital lobby a Hello Kitty statue in a doctor’s uniform greets patients. Twice a year, people dressed in feline costumes visit mothers and children.

“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 that we can bring a smile to their faces, helping forget about discomfort and recover faster,” said Tsai Tsung-chi, the director of the hospital.

It cost $3 million for Tsai to open the hospital and his motivation was the pleasure of his mother, wife and daughter all who love the cartoon cat. One mother commented that the hospital was pleasurable and unique because it isn’t white like others. Its non-traditional aspects are pleasing to many and Hello Kitty has many loyal fans that consider her the epitome of cuteness.

Its all about comfort and pleasure for both mothers and children and even if Hello Kitty isn’t your cup of tea, she certainly will help take the edge off childbirth and being in a hospital.

[weiredasia]