All's well after baby mix-up

A married couple got the shock of their lives when they learned that the new baby boy whom they just brought home from the hospital, was actually another couple's baby.

Apparently, a staff from the medical centre in Jitra, Kedah, where the baby of Nik Ahmad Sabri Mohamad Yusoff, 37, and Mahani Zakaria, 36, was born, had committed negligence and switched their newborn with another couple’s shortly after birth at the medical centre.

According to Nik Ahmad Sabri, his wife normally delivered their baby at 4pm on Tuesday.

Nik Ahmad Sabri, clearly aggrieved by the incident, said he only knew about the mix-up yesterday, when he received a phone call from the medical centre late evening.

"We got the call around 7.30pm. I was shocked, and true enough, I looked at the name tag on the baby’s feet and it was someone else’s name.

"The whole day my wife was in the ward, cradling that baby, feeding him until we got home. She fed him till he was full, technically, she can already be considered as a wet nurse.

"But we didn't realise it and neither did the hospital, until the other couple alerted them that the baby they had brought home wasn't theirs. They then brought our baby to the hospital to confirm the mix-up," he said.

Following the incident, Mahani had to be readmitted to the medical centre for blood sampling and DNA testing.

Traumatised by the medical centre's negligence, she said she feared it could happen to another couple.

"To me, such things cannot happen in this field. Any other line of work... fine, but in this field, you cannot make such a mistake," said told Astro AWANI.

"If there's a mistake, it means you cannot continue to work there... action needs to be taken. Even if you apologise... to me, anyone can apologise. But lessons need to be learnt. Imagine if both couples didn't realise the switch, what would happen then?" she said.

Nik Ahmad Sabri has since lodged a report at the Kubang Pasu district police headquarters around midnight last night and alleged that the incident stemmed from the medical centre's negligence.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Kubang Pasu district police chief Supt Abdul Rahim Abdullah confirmed receiving the report on the matter.

The case, however, has been considered solve after the couple switched back their babies.