When an expectant mother goes to the hospital to finally deliver her baby, a million fears of what might go wrong run through her mind.
A parent only wants to know that their child will be born safely and healthily and they trust the professional doctors, nurses, and midwives to help with that process. The idea that a baby could be switched or stolen — like what happened to Celeste Nurse in South Africa — seems like all but an impossibility.
Yet stories about babies being switched at birth are surprisingly more common than one might think.
Samantha and Nick Stuhlener discovered this firsthand when an unprofessional employee of St. Vincent's Private Hospital in Melbourne, Australia switched their baby with another.
When I first heard the story, I was in utter disbelief. How can a hospital be so disorganized, especially when it comes to such an important matter?
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Soon after giving birth, a midwife did not properly check the wristbands on either newborn. Instead of handing Sarah her son, Levi, she handed her a completely different newborn.
She held this child for nearly 45 minutes before the hospital realized the mistake. Of course, if the midwife had checked the tags and the appropriate labels in the settling room, this never would have happened.
Sarah did not breastfeed or change this other baby, but she regrets that she missed out on this valuable bonding time with her own son.
Nick and Sarah were told that their child was just waiting during that time period in the settling room, but Sarah isn't sure she can really trust the hospital. She's very concerned that another parent was holding her newborn during that period.
Unfortunately, the mistakes did not end there. The hospital attempted to make up for the mishap with apology letters and $500 in gift certificates, but just as they confused the parents of each newborn, they incorrectly addressed the letters, and Sarah received a letter intended for the other parents.
A hospital spokesperson admits wrongdoing and accepts full responsibility, but it is frightening to see how disorganized the hospital is being run. It makes one wonder what else might get confused. The hospital says it will have two people check every newborn's label before being handed to parents.
Sarah made contact with the other parents, and both pairs say they are traumatized. Sarah has been demanding an incident report, but she has not yet received it. She wants to be sure of where her actual son was during that period.
Fortunately, Sarah has her son back and they continue to bond. She's of course grateful to have her son, but is very upset with how the hospital treated her family.
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