A new mom in the United Kingdom was basking in the glow of motherhood at a hospital in Dorset, England, when a midwife brought the baby to her. Maisie Beth, 22, cared for the baby and determined it was time for Isabelle, whom she nicknamed Belle, to have a diaper change. When she went to change the baby, however, she received the shock of her life. She realized the baby the hospital had given her was definitely not Belle because it was a baby boy.
Thankfully, it appeared to be just a mix-up in the nursery and Belle was reunited with her mother, but the incident left Beth shaken and wondering how such a thing could happen.
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Beth was a first-time mom when she gave birth to Belle.
Beth gave birth to Belle in September 2023 at University Hospitals Dorset in England, according to Caters, per the New York Post. She had suffered from infertility for years, and Belle was her miracle baby. Shortly after Belle was born, Beth said, a midwife came to take her to a special nursery to have photo therapy, according to NDTV.
Beth was allegedly given the wrong baby late at night.
She told Caters she woke up in the middle of the night and walked down the hall to find a midwife holding who she thought was Belle in an office.
“The midwife came out of the office and told me to come in because they had Isabelle in there and I just assumed they taken her out with her phototherapy crib while I was in the toilet,” Beth said. She said the midwives told her the baby had been having a tough time.
“They told me they had her there for a while because she’s been crying a lot,” she continued. “They told me that she looked exactly like me. At this point it was so early and I was two days postpartum so I just didn’t question anything and I took the baby back to my bed.”
Her maternal instinct kicked in, and she began to care for the baby.
The new mom had no reason to question the baby was Belle and took it back to her room. Things were going fine until she changed the baby’s diaper. She instantly realized the baby was not Belle and panicked.
“My instant reaction was that somebody had stolen my baby,” the mom recalled. “I was absolutely terrified after four years of infertility. I thought I’d lost my baby after giving birth to her.”
The new mom has no idea how the mix-up happened.
Thankfully, she was reunited with Belle a short time later. Beth has no idea if the little boy’s mother even knew the mix-up occurred.
“The [other] mom 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,” she told Caters.
“As far as I’m aware, Isabelle was still in her phototherapy crib this whole time across the hall from me, but I have no idea what went on while I was in bed with the other baby.”
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Hospital staff addressed the situation.
Lorraine Tonge, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Dorset, stated to Caters, “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,” Tonge added. “The safety of our parents and babies is the highest priority and we are committed to providing full support to the affected families.”
