Hospital gave mum wrong baby and she only noticed when she went to change nappy

A new mum was left stunned after she discovered the hospital handed her the wrong baby.

Maisie Beth who gave birth to Isabelle, went to change her daughter’s nappy only to find that the baby she was holding was a boy.

The 22-year-old from Poole, Dorset, stormed into the maternity office demanding to know where her child, nicknamed Belle, had been taken.

She said: ‘God knows what would’ve happened, I could’ve breastfed this baby or the mum could’ve woken up to an empty crib.’

Maisie gave birth to her daughter in September, and due to needing phototherapy and having a tube fitted, Belle had to be monitored every two hours, so she was placed in a nursery on her own.

Maisie told how one night she went to visit her baby and, on her way, back to her room found the Midwife in the office with Belle.

She was confused as Belle was meant to be kept in her crib due to needing phototherapy but made her way back to her room with her child.

Before long, it was time for Maisie to return her newborn to the phototherapy crib which is when she made her shocking discovery.

The midwife was in fact not looking after Belle in the office and had given away the wrong baby.

In a complete panic, Maisie explained how she ran to the office to find her daughter to which the midwife explained that Maisie looked identical to the little boy’s mother, and has confused the two when giving her the baby.

Maisie said: ‘My thought was oh gosh I hope nobody noticed that I was cuddling a baby that wasn’t mine.

‘Nurses then told me that she looked exactly like me at this point it was so early and I was two days postpartum so we just didn’t question anything and I took the baby back to my bed.

‘The Mum was asleep on a completely different ward from me and I don’t know if she ever knew that the baby was passed to me.’

Maisie said her first thought was someone had stolen her baby.

‘My instant reaction was that somebody had stolen my baby. I was absolutely terrified after four years of infertility. I thought I’d lost my baby after giving birth to her.

‘When I saw her again, the relief I felt is unexplainable. She was still asleep in her little car and it didn’t seem like anything that happened to her but I instantly felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt for the other Mum.

‘After the incident it was never really spoken about again.’

Lorraine Tonge, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Dorset, said: ‘We are investigating an incident in our maternity unit in September 2023 in which a baby was handed to the wrong mother.

‘We deeply regret any distress that was caused and have reached out to the mother to offer her support. We would urge her to get back in touch with us to assist us in our investigation.

‘The safety of our parents and babies is the highest priority and we are committed to providing full support to the affected families.’

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