Telangana hospital swaps 2 newborns, DNA test to help identify mothers

HYDERABAD: The joy of motherhood was short-lived for two women at the government general hospital in Telangana’s Mancherial district after the hospital authorities lost track of which child was born to which mother, reports Sushil Rao. The parents and relatives of both infants—a boy and a girl—alleged negligence by the hospital. The doctors have now decided to get a DNA test done to identify the real mothers and hand over the correct child to each. Until then, the babies will be kept in an incubator.

“We were first handed over a male child saying it was born to my wife Mamatha. We also took the baby for vaccine shots at the hospital. After we returned to the ward, the hospital staff took the baby away. They said there had been a mistake and that Mamatha had given birth to a female child,” Ramesh, a resident of Chennur, said. On the other hand, Pavani of Komarambheem Asifabad district too was informed at the time of birth of her baby that she had given birth to a boy.

Both babies were born on Wednesday within a gap of half an hour through a caesarean operation. Pavani said the hospital staff had inquired about her previous children and she had informed them that she had a daughter. She said since she had given birth to a boy, the staff asked her to undergo a family planning operation and she went through the procedure.

Meanwhile, Mamatha’s family refused to accept the girl child. “We want the baby born to my wife to be handed over to us. It is not about whether it is a male or female child. We should get our own baby,” Ramesh said.