Written by Petr Bokuvka, journalist with experience in newspaper editing, radio and TV news.
aa Continuous update at the bottom of the post
For almost a year two couples took care of a newborn baby that was not theirs. According to several Czech dailies the babies were mistakenly switched moments after the birth because of a negligent nurse.
The baby is not yours, several pub buddies told their friend. The father then decided to take a DNA test that found that the baby indeed was not his baby. And since the couple was dead sure the woman was not cheating on him, the truth came out, iDNES.cz news server writes.
The couple had the feeling something was wrong already in the hospital. According to the sonogram pictures, their daughter was supposed to be bigger after birth. Plus, both parents have dark hair but the kid was blond, CTK news agency investigated.
Five babies were born on that day, so there are three potential “daughters” that another couple is taking care of, while their real daughter is with the couple who is now considering a huge lawsuit. We will demand one million for every month, which means 10 million, the father’s brother told the media.
The owner of the hospital, which is the district government of the Vysocina District hired a law firm. The lawyers have no idea how to approach this issue. They have never dealt with such an issue, the district governor said.
We love Nikola[the “fake daughter”] very much but we really need our daughter. I had to quit my job for a while, the father told a local daily.
It is obvious that the baby was not laid on the mother’s stomach immediately after the birth. Had this been done, the mothers would see their daughters and they would notice something was wrong if the babies were switched lately, for any reason….
i Related story: two women from the States learned they were switched — after 40 years.
UPDATE OCTOBER 4: According to several judges and lawyers who are quoted in today’s newspapers the family has a great chance to succeed with their lawsuitin which they will demand that the hospital pay 10 million crowns for switching the baby. “I can not imagine a worse infringement of the rights of a child and its family,” one of the judges told Mlada fronta Dnes daily.
The judges and lawyers still have one huge head-scratcher to solve. How the two families switch the babies back…
UPDATE OCTOBER 4: The two families met on a secret location today and they agreed they might switch the babies back in a few-weeks’ time. They all love the baby they have now but of course they want their own. The hospital is still investigating the incident…
UPDATE OCTOBER 5: The babies’ birthday is on December 9. By this date the couples want to have their real child home, to celebrate with them…
The Czech Daily Word 
[…] At Birth: The Story Continues The two families whose two daughters were switched at birth and have spent the last ten months being raised by a wrong moth… have several plans how to solve this situation without risking severe psychological problems of the […]
[…] after the birth because of a negligent nurse,” reports Petr Bokuvka of The Czech Daily Word – here and here. Share […]
Is there any news on he lawsuit? Did the trial take place?
I am a clerk in the court in Jerusalem, Israel and am seeking precedents on kust such an ocurrence.
Thank you.
I am almost sure that the parents will sue for “emotional suffering” and “non-financial damages”. No court verdict as yet, I think
Bula & Kia ora,
Am very interested in your story about babies being switched at birth. We have a case of two boys being switched in our comunity & the two boys are now teenagers. Their families have reconsiled but the teachers & others in the community are not helping as these two are from two different cultural background.
Because the two boys are from a rural & not so modern villages, we need to bear in mind the cultural constraints. We would like to help them through these ordeal and just wondered if we can get some great links as to how to help them.
Thanks.
Luvei Viti
[…] Two couples from the town of Trebic, Czech Republic brought home and raised a baby that was not thei… [The Czech Daily Word had the story way over a year ago]. The couples switched the babies back. They underwent therapies. They gave the girls second names they originally had thought they wanted for their own baby. […]