Babies given to wrong parents

[rjkh]

I heard on the radio the other day that 12 newborn babies a day are given to the wrong parents in Britain. Does anyone know if this figure is accurate? Thats over four thousand a year!

[brian j john]

don't know about britain but here's some info (scroll down a bit) http://www.fingerprintamerica.com/newz_Feb2005.asp

[Lily_b]

UK hospitals (in my, my sister & my mother's experience) keep mother & baby together unless one or the other is in intensive care.

It's probably hospital specific, however as soon as my babies were born, they had 2 name tags put on as well as one on the baby bed. If a baby had both it's tags missing all the babies including those in paediatrics then have to be accounted for.

Have to admit though, for the first day I would not have recognised my babies in a line up.

[witchone]

Out of 3 children, 2 of mine had their id tags put in place at birth, one didnt, but she was the only child, born that night and she was very premature, she also had a club foot, when i went to see my daughter about 4 hours after birth she had her tags, and her club foot, so i had no question to have any concern. The two boys never left my side. All 3 of the children have a deformality on their hands, a double bent up finger, and i have it, so does my dad,and his mum.

I have never really heard of it happening lately in this country, so much care and attention is put in identifying the child to the mother, i think this kind of mistake couldnt really be made anymore in this country.In England we dont normally send our babies out of the room and into the nursery anymore. the babies are removed to the Nurses station, if we are ill only.

However on this note, whilst in hospital with you baby check every body that comes to visit them that claims to be hospital staff, if they want to take your baby somewhere, insist you go with them, and if you cant, say you need to speak to the senior staff nurse, and that you want to wait until one of you visitors can accompany the child. I would strongly suggest that any mum still recieving daily visits from health visitors, and any mum, recieving an unanounced visit form the health visitor and or social worker, double check their ID, phone and check they are coming to see you, and if you are not happy, insist that you will visit the clinic or office the next day, because the biggest problem at the moment seems to be bogus health visitors and social workers, rather than misplaced children.

By asking to check their id, or visit the health center the next day, does not imply you have anything hide, it only shows that you are aware of strangers around your children.

I dont think that there really is any cause for concern on this matter anymore.

[jake-the-peg]

If you google Morton Tanderberg as quoted in that link you get 4 references mostly to the same story.

This is reputedly some annual survey but it doesn't seem to be attached to any known body or reported in any peer reviewed journal.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that your 1 in 12 was derived from this in some way and that Dr. Morton Tanderberg's research was a little on the "light" side.

Now if you were to tell me that 1 in 12 children were not fathered by the man that everybody accepted as their biological father I might think that was more credible.

I wonder if this research is based on determining that people's parents are genetically not who they think they are and assuming a "hospital error"

Unfortunately without seeing Dr. Tanderberg's report that'll have to be a mystery (unless anybody's found it?)

[jenstar]

It's possible, but you have to ask the question: How do they know?

[netibiza]

So who can I return my 19yr old teenager back to???

[rjkh]

Thanks very much for that link brian j john.

With regards to how these figures are collated, I would assume the DNA of the mother would be tested. I know that if I was told that I was not the father of a child I wouldn't instantly assume hospital error!