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It's a plot point of many dramatic TV shows and movies, but it is also the fear for many new parents. Now, it appears as though it could actually happen in real life. One couple in Nashville claims that the hospital where they had just delivered their newborn accidentally handed them the wrong baby.
Thomas Gray and his wife welcomed the birth of their daughter at TriStar Summit Medical Center last month, WKRN reports. After a smooth delivery, the couple was happy to be reunited with their newborn when nurse brought her into the room the next day. It wasn't until a nurse quickly came back to the room with their actual child that they realized something was off. She gave them a different newborn and took the other away.
"Just a panicked look on her face, she was like just breathing heavily and just flustered," Gray said. "And she was like, 'Here's your baby.' And we're like, 'Um, what?'"
Gray said he and his wife began worrying about why they didn't immediately recognize that the first baby was not theirs.
"She's less than 36 hours old and you'd like to think, 'Yeah, that's my child,'" he said. "But you've seen her all of three times since she's been born. So, it's this huge fear and these insecurities creep in."
They talked to supervisors at the hospital about where their daughter had been during that time, but felt their answer wasn't adequate and that their apologies didn't make up for the stress the parents felt. WKRN reached out to TriStar Summit, which couldn't comment on specifics due to HIPAA laws but did issue a statement.
"At TriStar Summit Medical Center, the health and well-being of our patients is our top priority. We have practices and safety measures in place to help protect our patients' welfare and promote the best possible outcomes. We take seriously the trust that our patients place in our hospital and caregivers. We apologize when we fall short of our expectations and thoroughly review processes, including patient notification, staff training and education."
Gray encourages all new parents to double check security measures whenever their newborn is moved around the hospital and to be aware of the possibility that the same thing could happen to them.
"Even in the year 2021, these things still happen," said Gray.