cross-nursing mix up

[caro113]

I just saw this article and it really upset me. A baby was taken from the nursery at the hospital (I'm going to go there) to the wrong room, and by the time the hospital figured it out, the baby had already nursed from the other woman. (how she didn't realize it was her own child is beyond me)

This is what bother me: When they interviewed the father, he said "It's a sick feeling" and that "it physically makes you sick" ... ummm what? From the gist of the article, it seems like he is talking about the baby being nursed by someone else that is 'sickening' to him.

I realize he doesn't know this other woman who nursed his child. I get that. But this brings up a bigger issue. Why are people so disgusted by cross-nursing? There's nothing wrong with it. My own family finds it "wrong" and "disgusting" that I even considered feeding my child donor milk. I can't imagine how they would react to actually allowing my child to be nursed by someone else (which btw I would). I just don't understand it.

[marrymeflyfree]

This happened to the daughter of a woman I know....the babies were mixed up, and another woman breastfed her baby. Apparently the other woman asked the nurse a couple of times if she was sure it was her baby, and the nurse kept blowing her off and saying 'oh of course it's your baby, you just haven't gotten to know him yet.'

Personally...I'm not at all against cross nursing, but I have to say I think I'd feel a little ill myself if that happened to my baby. For one, not knowing the other woman is a pretty big deal. Nursing is intimate! And the bigger thing for me is that a newly born baby is just so pure and untouched, for lack of better terms. I mean, I was a little sad when my DD had solids for the first time because up until that point, she was 100% made by me! I think I'd feel a little (a lot?) violated if that feeling was taken away from me by a mistake such as this.

[Shelsi]

Not to mention that if this woman had a typical hospital birth she prob had pitocin and pain meds in her system. It IS icky IMO when it's a stranger! She could be a drug user, a smoker, an alcoholic, she could have HIV, etc. Totally NOT cool.

Also, for me, I can't really do the cross-nursing thing. It does ick me out a bit and I think it's because nursing is so very intimate. It's not something I want to share with a child that is not mine and it's not something I want someone to share with a child of mine, kwim?

[mynetname]

I just saw a blurb on the news. The mother that fed the other baby mentioned she did not want to sound crazy so did not say anything, but did not feel it was her baby (this is what the father of the baby said, and he is concerned that she may have known it was not her baby, he brought up that point). Second, the hospital will have to test the baby for various diseases (although I do not think someone would breastfeed any baby if they had a disease that could transfer to the baby).
I wonder if they will do a follow up to this story and how it turns out.

[Shelsi]

I would also think that the mother that nursed the wrong baby might have some issues later on down the road. I know how my thoughts would go and they would say something like, "I'm such a terrible mother, I didn't even know my own baby and I messed up on the very first day!"

[G8P4]

Actually, this case puts a very strong argument for "rooming in". Many countries besides the US don't have a "nursery" for normal newborns. In the nursery the one thing the babies don't get is "nursing". If the baby stays with mom the chance of a mix up is zero.

[evermore82]

Originally Posted by G8P4

Actually, this case puts a very strong argument for "rooming in". Many countries besides the US don't have a "nursery" for normal newborns. In the nursery the one thing the babies don't get is "nursing". If the baby stays with mom the chance of a mix up is zero.

That's totally my first thought!

I support cross-nursing, and it's our practice occasionally with a couple of good mama friends. However, I would be seriously upset with the hospital staff for letting this happen in the first place. If it were my baby, I would be concerned since I do not know the other woman or her health history or nutritional habits or anything about her. If I were the mother, I would be upset that I did not know my own baby (though I cannot imagine that happening, unless I was half asleep or completely out of it).

Makes me support homebirth even more.

[_betsy_]

I don't get it at all. I've had 2 hospital births and any time they bring the baby back into the room, they check the baby's wrist band number against the mother's wrist band number. They have to match, and they do it every time. It's to help prevent things like this, but also to help prevent someone just walking off with your baby.

I wonder if the parents were "physically ill" over the idea that a hospital they trusted could perform such a screw up. I mean, what if that baby had been given to some other woman at discharge?

[KnitLady]

I think cross-nursing is great, but I wouldn't want just any random stranger to bf my baby. If I ever do cross-nursing it will be with someone I know (or at the very least know the health history of) and will be agreed on in advance. In other words, I'd be upset too!

[PiesandAbrosmama]

I agree with other posts this is a "rooming-in" issue and that I for one would be very upset if my newborn was feed my a stranger during a mix up. I don't feel this instance is really about cross-nursing. If I wanted to cross nurse I would want to know her and know she was healthy. So to me the bigger issue is why we take away babies from mama's and how we mix them up!:

[jocelynr]

Originally Posted by _betsy_

I wonder if the parents were "physically ill" over the idea that a hospital they trusted could perform such a screw up. I mean, what if that baby had been given to some other woman at discharge?

That's what would make me sick too.

[pixiekisses]

Originally Posted by G8P4

Actually, this case puts a very strong argument for "rooming in". Many countries besides the US don't have a "nursery" for normal newborns. In the nursery the one thing the babies don't get is "nursing". If the baby stays with mom the chance of a mix up is zero.

Yeah, I thought they didn't have nurserys in hospitals any more. That's something we just see in movies here and we thought it was back in the old days only.
The babys stay with their mom all the time in our hospitals.

[Equuskia]

I hope they sue and win. I would consider that a medical mistake. If they aren't careful with something as simple as checking bands before giving a baby to a mother, imagine what other instances of gross negligence are going on without people knowing.

[Romana]

Originally Posted by Equuskia

I hope they sue and win. I would consider that a medical mistake. If they aren't careful with something as simple as checking bands before giving a baby to a mother, imagine what other instances of gross negligence are going on without people knowing.

They can most likely only sue if they can show some kind of damage. I doubt they can do that, unless their child contracted a serious illness from the other woman.

[kristi96]

Yeah I think I would be ill as well. Sorry but I just don't think breastfeeding other peoples kids is ok.

[annettemarie]

This actually happened to me.

When my first was born, it was a totally medicalized birth. Went in on Monday, was induced, finally had him on Wednesday (forceps delivery). On Friday, my husband went home for the first time and I let them take Michael out to get a shot (this was before I went all crunchy). They brought him back, or so I thought. I went to nurse this baby, and he looked at me like "WTH are you doing, lady?!?"

Then I looked and saw the wrong name of the bassinet. I called the front desk and said "You brought my baby back in the wrong bassinet," never thinking they would be stupid enough to bring me the completely wrong baby. But they had.

Now, this other baby never latched on, but I tortured myself for years wondering what had happened to my little guy while he was gone. I even wondered if I had the right kid, although the fact that his little brother is a carbon copy of him erased that fear.

Because the baby didn't latch on, the nurse wasn't fired, but was I beyond ticked that I almost nursed a stranger's baby? You bet. And if someone else had nursed my kid (supposedly he was just chilling by the nurses' station and never got taken to a room) I would have at least tried to sue as well.

What I did was wait a few days until I calmed down and wrote a very detailed letter about what happened. My next two were born in hospitals and I never let them out of my sight. My fourth was born at home.

[Sheryl1678]

Originally Posted by Shelsi

Not to mention that if this woman had a typical hospital birth she prob had pitocin and pain meds in her system. It IS icky IMO when it's a stranger! She could be a drug user, a smoker, an alcoholic, she could have HIV, etc. Totally NOT cool.

:

I am a BIG fan of cross nursing with healthy, organic disease and drug free friends. The fact remains that it is a very intimate act which involves a transfer of bodily fluids and I would be pretty upset if I found out a random hospital patient breastfed my child.

[Porcelain Interior]

Originally Posted by Sheryl1678

:

I am a BIG fan of cross nursing with healthy, organic disease and drug free friends. The fact remains that it is a very intimate act which involves a transfer of bodily fluids and I would be pretty upset if I found out a random hospital patient breastfed my child.

Exactly.

[MittensKittens]

Yet another reason to birth at home

[proudmomof4]

Originally Posted by PiesandAbrosmama

I agree with other posts this is a "rooming-in" issue and that I for one would be very upset if my newborn was feed my a stranger during a mix up. I don't feel this instance is really about cross-nursing. If I wanted to cross nurse I would want to know her and know she was healthy. So to me the bigger issue is why we take away babies from mama's and how we mix them up!:

I agree with that.
However, isn't it interesting: the baby's father's worries about what his baby could have contracted by breastfeeding from another woman - and this gets huge media coverage. Try and express concern about what could be leaching from baby bottles, what could be in the formula - this is not front page news unless we have another incident of ... in baby milk.