Newborns swapped as mothers share same name

In an incident at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, a newborn was mistakenly handed over to another family because the mothers had the same name. After the error was discovered, hospital authorities recovered both infants and handed them over to their respective families on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. One family left the hospital with the wrong baby and went to Sarishabari in Jamalpur. Later, hospital authorities contacted them at night and brought the baby back.

According to family and hospital sources, Nadira and Masud Islam of the Jagannathbari area in Sarishabari had a baby girl on Thursday. After birth at a private hospital in Jamalpur, the baby was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital on Saturday due to physical complications. She was discharged on Monday afternoon following treatment.

Meanwhile, Abu Rayhan and Nadira of Pumbail village in Gauripur upazila also had a baby girl on Thursday. After birth at Ishwarganj Upazila Health Complex, she was also admitted to the NICU of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital due to physical complications.

On Monday evening, when family members from Gauripur came to receive their baby, the hospital staff attempted to hand over an infant. However, the family members grew suspicious upon seeing the baby and said it was not their child.

Hospital authorities later verified and learned that the Gauripur baby had mistakenly been handed over to the Sarishabari family. By then, that family had left the hospital with the child.

Hospital authorities then contacted the Jamalpur family and brought the baby back to the hospital around 3am. The two infants were handed over to their respective families around 9:30am on Tuesday.

Ruhul Amin, a relative of the Gauripur baby, said the token on the baby's foot had the parents' names and serial number. While the mothers' names were the same, the fathers' names were different. He questioned how such a mistake could still happen.

Mymensingh Medical College Hospital Deputy Director Zakiul Islam said the mistake occurred because the two newborns' mothers shared the same name. After the matter was detected, the baby was brought back that night. If negligence on duty is proven, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken against those concerned.