birthing---delivery
Two Newborns Swapped at Birth – Identified by Blood Group
Published: 24/10/25
Updated: 24/10/25
In a shocking incident at a government maternity hospital in Udaipur, Rajasthan, two newborn babies were accidentally exchanged between their mothers shortly after birth. The mistake only came to light when the staff checked their blood groups and realized things didn’t add up.
What Happened
On the day of the incident, two women delivered their babies within roughly 30 minutes of each other at the hospital’s maternity ward. Soon afterwards, hospital staff reported the deliveries and handed the babies to the mothers. But the confusion started when the families noticed something was wrong. One mother was told she had a baby boy although she believed she had given birth to a girl, and vice-versa.
The hospital officials responded by doing a detailed check. They reviewed the sonography reports and delivery time logs. However, it was confirmed when they matched the blood groups of the babies with their mothers. These checks confirmed that indeed the babies were switched.
While a full DNA test is being arranged to give final confirmation, the blood-group mismatch has already convinced both families and the hospital that a swap occurred.
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Why Blood Group Check
Blood grouping is a basic but powerful check in such situations. A child’s blood group is inherited from the parents, so if a baby has a blood group that is biologically impossible given the parents’ groups, it raises an alarm.
In this case, the hospital found that the baby given to one mother did not match the expected blood group given her own and her husband’s blood groups. That’s what triggered the deep review of the records and led to the discovery of the swap.
While blood group is not as definitive as DNA for proving parentage, it is a strong early indicator.
How The Families Reacted
Once the hospital management told them about the swap, both families accepted the correction. One family got their rightful daughter, and the other regained their son. The hospital superintendent issued a statement confirming the swap and said that a full inquiry has been launched, and disciplinary action will follow.
The babies remain in the hospital under observation until final tests are completed.
What Caused The Mistake?
According to the hospital inquiry team, the swap appears to have occurred due to confusion in the labour ward when two deliveries happened very close together. Because the babies were born within a minute's gap and the staff handed them out, a mislabelling occurred.
The hospital has accepted that proper safeguards were not followed.
What Next?
The hospital has launched an enquiry committee to investigate the error and find out who is responsible. A DNA test is being ordered for final confirmation of parentage.
Going forward, the hospital has said it will strengthen its baby-identity protocols which includes improved tagging, photo records, locking the hand-over process, ensuring separate labour ward handling when multiple births occur. The authorities also plan to issue new guidelines to prevent such mistakes.
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