It’s every new parent’s nightmare – the possibility of their baby being switched with someone elses. We should have ways of preventing it but for one new mom she alleges that her newborn daughter was swapped at a UK hospital.
Maisie Beth, 22, from Poole, UK, took to TikTok to share her ordeal, titled “My newborn baby was swapped at birth??? a true story time.”
“I never imagined this could happen to us,” Maisie reveals in the video. She narrates how the unimaginable unfolded when she went to change her baby’s diaper and discovered, to her astonishment, that it was a boy, not her daughter.
The incident occurred in September 2023, shortly after the birth of her daughter Isabella. Maisie and her baby were temporarily separated while Isabella underwent photo therapy treatments in the nursery.
However, on the second night in the hospital, the new mom recalled being woken at 3 a.m. by nurses who claimed to have Isabella with them.
“Several red flags went up,” Maisie recalls. She was told that Isabella had been removed from the nursery due to persistent crying. Accepting the explanation, Maisie took the baby presented to her and returned to her room.
It was only hours later, as morning approached, that Maisie’s world was turned upside down. While attending to the baby’s needs, she realized the baby was not hers.
Maisie describes her panic, rushing to the hospital office in a frenzy, demanding answers and the whereabouts of her daughter. The hospital attributed the mix-up to Maisie’s resemblance to the other baby’s mother.
In recent years hospitals have implemented several measures to prevent babies from being switched at birth like placing matching identification bands on the baby and the mother. In some cases, electronic systems, such as barcoding or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, are used to track and monitor newborns and their mothers. This, in addition to security cameras, double-checking identification bands, and verifying information with the mother should prevent this from happening at all.
Poole Hospital, although not directly acknowledging the TikTok video or Maisie’s identity, confirmed an investigation into the incident. University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust emphasized that the occurrence was “isolated” and expressed regret for any distress caused.
Lorraine Tonge, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Dorset, urged Maisie to come forward to aid in the investigation and offered support to alleviate the anguish caused by the ordeal.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) deputy director of operations in the south, Cath Campbell, told the BBC the hospital’s service “care and treatment fell below standards”.
“Behind this was a staffing shortage, and risk management which needed strengthening,” she added.
