Hospital allegedly gives baby to wrong mom, tips to keep this from happening to you

March 27, 8:04 PMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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Source: WABC-TV

A scary story for any mom to think of... a New York woman says her hospital mixed up her baby with another.

The mom says while she was being watched for possible seizures, her baby girl was in the nursery along with another baby girl with a mom with the same last name -Brown- and same first initial-S. The mom says that 18 hours after birth hospital workers came and told her there had been a terrible mix up and that her baby was accidentally given to another mom.

Read the details of the story and watch a video news story about it HERE.

This is a rare situation these days, thankfully. But that doesn't stop this from being a fear of every new mom. So what can you do to avoid being in the situation?

• First - you have the right to have someone with your baby at all times, even if it can't be you for medical reasons.
• You can opt to room-in with your baby. Most hospitals encourage this as it really encourages bonding.
• You can go with your baby for everything from hospital photos to their first bath time. If you'd rather take that time to rest or shower, have your husband, partner or other family member go with the baby. You don't have to let your baby be out of your supervision if you don't want to.
• You don't have to send the baby to the nursery ever if you don't want to. If you do, you can personally check your baby's ID band to match with your ID band when baby is returned to you after any time apart. Yes, hospital staff is supposed to do this, but it never hurts to check yourself. You and the baby are given these matching bands minutes after birth.
• Also most hospitals require a password of the day that anyone coming into your room must give you before having contact with you or your baby. Make sure you know the password and insist on any one that enters your room follows this protocol.

You can find out the hospital's policies before you give birth. Be sure to sign up for a free tour and ask questions about their security procedures at this time. Some hospitals allow tours any time during pregnancy, others only allow tours after 32 weeks. Some are private tours, others only off group tours. Both are great and really can ease many fears of new parents. Call your hospital to find out their policies and sign up.