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Original poster

woman given wrong baby, their baby returned at 8 months.

43 replies

albazavi · 02/06/2016 08:51

Saw this story on the news this morning and it's got me thinking. If you were given a baby that wasn't yours and you loved it for 8 months, would you give it back because it wasn't biologically yours?

I don't know what I'd do, having a 2 month old makes me think I wouldn't be able to do it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36432343

OP posts:
Original poster
albazavi · 02/06/2016 08:53

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36432343

OP posts:
schbittery · 02/06/2016 08:54

I think the babies were swapped back at 3 months werent they, its been up to 8 months while theyve been waiting for paperwork. still hard though. and strangely no mention of the other baby.

HardWorkButTheyMakeMeSmile · 02/06/2016 09:00

Its an utterly heartbreaking scenario for all involved. Although I think they ultimately made the best decisions. The babies were very young when it resolved and personally I feel the damage would have been greater to the children if the hand over hadn't taken place.

firesidechat · 02/06/2016 09:03

Also the mother thought there was a mistake right from the beginning and had a dna test done herself, so I suspect she didn't completely bond with the baby she was looking after. Still awful though.

firesidechat · 02/06/2016 09:04

and strangely no mention of the other baby.

Maybe the other family wanted privacy. I would.

schbittery · 02/06/2016 09:05

and the doctors been accused of child trafficing - sounds dodgy all round.

thrillhouse · 02/06/2016 09:08

Ugh this is awful. And another reason why babies should stay with their mothers in hospital (aside from any medical need).

Wetbankhols · 02/06/2016 09:49

I agree with HardWork. These cases are strangely fascinating, though. There have been two in the States with strange outcomes.

VestalVirgin · 02/06/2016 13:59

I would never give birth in a hospital except if there were complications. The way they treat mothers and babies is horrible. Mixing up babies and insisting that they are right even though the mother suspects the truth ... is just the tip of the iceberg.

The way it is done is just so unintuitive. WHY would anyone separate a newborn from the mother without medical reasons?

NeedACleverNN · 02/06/2016 14:03

I don't know what I would do if that ever happened to me.

I agree with the poster who said she probably didn't bond with it properly as she suspected it wasn't her baby but still, you've raised that infant. Seen its first smile and absolute trust in you. In their eyes you are their mum Sad

thrillhouse · 02/06/2016 14:48

I was listening to them talk on the radio about it earlier, it was heartbreaking. That poor woman. She said she knew from the off that something wasn't right.

user1464519881 · 02/06/2016 16:37

I hope they can keep in touch with the babies on both sides. The Englishman (though they live in Texas) doesn't even look like the wrong baby they had to take home. He said it has almost bankrupted them as they had to stay in El S for months before a new passport was issued so they could take the baby back home to Texas.

brodchengretchen · 03/06/2016 09:36

I think the couple were very, very lucky indeed to get their baby back. Is it known where their own baby was during the first few months?

leixjewelry · 03/06/2016 09:49

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TinyGoldfish · 03/06/2016 10:01

'and strangely no mention of the other baby.'

That's what I thought. Even if they just wanted privacy would there not be a little comment or disclaimer from them?

ImperialBlether · 03/06/2016 10:02

I would never give birth in a hospital except if there were complications. The way they treat mothers and babies is horrible.

Of course they don't treat mothers and babies horribly in hospital!

Teresalosingtheirleaves · 03/06/2016 10:28

Vestal... That's a dumb thing say about giving birth in hospitals. Sure there are horrible experiences but, also many many women , myself included had positive experiences.

Lules · 03/06/2016 10:36

vestal if I hadn't have given birth in a hospital both me and my baby would be dead. I also managed to return home with the right baby.

On a more sensible note - did anyone listen to the This American Life about the babies that had been swapped? Was so strange

NeverbuytheDailyMail · 03/06/2016 11:14

I read a heartbreaking story about two sets of twins who were mixed up at birth and it was only weird doppleganger moments with friends and then social media that finally revealed what had happened. They were young men at this point and one of the mums had died so one of the boys never met his birth mum and he has been the one who struggled most with the revelation! Heartbreaking! I'll see if I can find the link.

In this case I can absolutely see why the mum twigged that she had been given the wrong baby - he looked nothing like her or her husband.

NeverbuytheDailyMail · 03/06/2016 11:16

Mixed Up Brothers of Bogota

MumOnTheRunCatchingUp · 03/06/2016 11:36

vestal did you read the link??

SloppyDailyMailJournalism · 03/06/2016 12:01

Heartbreaking.

The couple have sadness in their eyes in a latter photos. I imagine they still adore the first baby as well as their last baby.

diddl · 03/06/2016 17:25

I wonder if this happens much when babies don't go to nurseries?

What is the idea behind that?

I wonder how they found the other baby?

DNA test on all who had been born at the same/similar time?

catbrushblanket · 03/06/2016 18:26

Lules I listened to that the other day - what a strange story!

littlemonkey5 · 03/06/2016 19:30

It's all a bit weird from a UK point of view because in hospital in the UK, the baby is weighed in the room the mum gives birth in and that is when the tags are put on both ankles of the baby with the surname of the mum (even if the baby will be registered with a different surname) and it is cross referenced with the mum.

If a baby is in NICU, the tags are checked every time meds are given, so they have to be there and they won't let you take your baby home unless the tags on baby and mum match.......

I can see how a baby can be swapped where they put the babies in a room with other babies, but surely the babies would have their tags on before being put in that room and everyone has checked the information on the tag is correct???

So glad that everyone has their babies back. Sad though that it had to reach the media for those babies to know for the rest of their life, what happened. Hope it doesn't hit them too negatively.