Switched Baby Breastfed By Wrong Mom

[trcy]

http://gma.yahoo.com/switched-baby-breastfed-wrong-mom-214855848--abc-news-topstories.html

I am in shock this could happen. Where DD was born, every mom and baby had a band that was 'connected'. If mom would hold (or even get too close)to someone else's baby an alarm would sound. I thought this was standard in all hospitals....I guess not.

[KLD313]

That's crazy! Our hospital had an alarm on the baby and each parent had a band with a number that matched the band in the baby. Whenever they brought me the baby they would match the numbers. However, I recognized my baby.

[squimp]

Wow, I would be really upset, especially about having to do the blood tests on a newborn - would anything show up so quickly. Honestly that is a very big mistake and they're lucky nothing worse happened. This is the kind of thing someone should lose their job over because there are definitely precautions in place - all three of us had matching bracelets.

[maestramommy]

Yeah, I thought it was pretty shocking, considering these bracelets seem standard now. Only explanation I can think of is that it must've been crazy busy and crowded.

[chlobo]

If the mom has HIV or Hepatitis, why is she nursing her baby?

[wellyes]

It sounds like it was a switched bracelet, since they were unable to locate the other mom's baby for 20 minutes (the one who did the breastfeeding). That is really really bad.

Here's to hoping no negative health consequences for the baby. Perhaps that other mother isn't HIV / hep, she just refused to have anything to do with the hospital, including sign privacy releases, after they handed her the wrong baby to feed then couldn't find her newborn.

[Snow mom]

I think it's a precaution and pretty standard, especially with the hospitals liability in the matter. The article I read said the mom who's baby was being tested felt a bit better after having talked to the mom who BF her baby. I imagine she'll get a settlement of some sort for the mistake, even if there is no health problem. The hospital can't compel the mom who was given the wrong baby for additional testing and can't disclose any of her information. There likely isn't any reason to believe she has anything, but she'd need to be tested for 6 month/ 1 year to make sure she wasn't carrying anything that wasn't yet showing up on the tests. DDs first daycare gave her someone elses BM once. I was pretty livid but at least I knew the mom.

[infomama]

Holy crap. I'd sue the pants off that hospital.

[mikala]

I'm probably in the minority here but my first reaction wasn't one of horror at the switch as much as a long sigh the hospital was keeping lots of babies in a nursery instead of having them room in. (I'm assuming lots of babies in the nursery based on the mix up, seems unlikely for this to happen the fewer babies in there.)

The chances of disease from this are really slim. It's definitely not good at all from a consent perspective but isn't lawsuit worthy IMO.

http://www.bestforbabes.org/booby-traps-series-breasts-dont-stretch-down-hallways-and-under-doors-why-do-so-few-hospitals-make-rooming-in-the-standard

[♥ms.pacman♥]

If the mom has HIV or Hepatitis, why is she nursing her baby?

it didn't say she had it, it was just a precaution, in case the nursing mother had it, since those disease can be transmitted thru breastmilk. luckily the tests on the baby were negative.

ok i know it's a freaky, serious story but anybody else immediately think of that episode from The Office??

[wellyes]

ok i know it's a freaky, serious story but anybody else immediately think of that episode from The Office??
*raises hand*

[waitingforgrace]

A family member of mine had her baby at this hospital early Thursday morning. I was joking with them (sort of) to not let the baby out of their sight.

I feel bad for both mothers, very scary for both of them.

[ZeeBaby]

This is terrible and very scary for both moms. The mom in the story was probably offered the tests as a precaution since the hospital can't disclose the medical history. I would be extemely upset but as long as my baby suffered no health consequences I would not sue.

[Melbel]

Lyme Disease can also be transmitted via breast milk, but the testing for Lyme on infants is horrendous at best. Lyme is prevalent in the Minneapolis area, so this is yet another cause for concern.

[Pear]

it didn't say she had it, it was just a precaution, in case the nursing mother had it, since those disease can be transmitted thru breastmilk. luckily the tests on the baby were negative.

ok i know it's a freaky, serious story but anybody else immediately think of that episode from The Office??




I wouldn't sue over the breastfeeding. I would sue over the mix-up. Honestly this is one of the reasons that DH and I insisted that DD be with a parent at all times. The only exception wOuld have been if she needed surgery. The hospital staff was irked, but at least we knew DD was safe.

[hellokitty]

That's a pretty bad screw up, I'm sure both moms are pissed. As for the hiv/hepatitis testing, not all women get it. I have always refused the hiv test while pregnant. That doesn't mean that I have it, b/c I refused it. It's my right to refuse it. DH and I have always joked that the benefit of being like the only asian ppl where we live is that there was zero chance of a baby mix up at the hospital.

[gatorsmom]

I thnk the mother who did the breastfeeding should be pissed too. The hospital couldn't even locate her baby!! WTH? It says she her son Liam was a twin and he could not be found. How do you lose a baby?

I delivered all my babies in St Paul and had always heard that Abbott (the hospital in the story) was one of the best in the twin cities but also that it is one of the largest. My OBGYN didn't deliver there so it wasn't an option for me.

I wouldn't take the deal the hospital offered f only covering the costs f the tests for one year. What if the baby has a condtion (like Lyme disease) that doesn't show up til he's a toddler or later? I'd sue to make sure that there was no time limit for testing and treating of any disease he caught now. There has to be some legal way that that could be guaranteed now.

[sntm]

The likelihood of getting anything is extremely low. The testing is CYA. I agree i'd be upset about the mixup, but a lawsuit?
When DS1 was in daycare, another baby with the same name was given his breast milk bottle.

[american_mama]

What happened to the copy editor on that article? Newborn written "new born", Minneapolis written "Minnapolis," declined written as "declilned." And the general writing of the article sounds amateur-ish to me. I don't expect much of Yahoo news, but I at least expect a basic spell check.