Mangaluru: New born babies swapped; Court allows to conduct DNA test

Mangaluru: Recently, a couple had complained to the police that the Government Lady Goschen Hospital in Mangaluru handed them over a male baby during the discharge, though the hospital records show the mother gave birth to a baby girl.

The district court has permitted to conduct DNA test to decide parenthood. The DNA samples will be collected on Tuesday, October 19 and will be sent to the laboratory in Bengaluru or Hyderabad.

The report will take about three months and further investigation will be undertaken on the basis of the report.

Mustafa, a resident of Koteshwar, complained that on September 27, his pregnant wife Amreen was admitted to Government Lady Goschen Hospital in the city for delivery.

As per the complaint, it was a difficult case and the baby was delivered through a cesarean operation. At the time, the hospital staff had told the father of the child, Mustafa,  that it was a baby girl. As the baby developed health complications, it was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital for 18 days.

The parents claimed that the hospital authorities had issued records indicating the newborn was a baby girl.

After 18 days, the parents decided to refer the baby to another hospital in Brahmavar for advanced care. However, the parents were stunned as the doctors there said the baby was a male.

Due to the conflicting reports of the doctors, the couple now suspects the baby was swapped after birth.

Meanwhile, the medical superintendent of Lady Goschen Hospital, Dr. Durgaprasad M R, has denied the allegations that babies were exchanged and clarified that it was just a clerical error on the part of the hospital.