4 months later: The mothers of switched babies hugged their children for the first time

A happy ending to the case with the babies switched at birth at Sheinovo Hospital – from today, January 13, the children are with their biological families. The exchange happened exactly four months after the babies were born - on September 13 last year. Three days later, their mothers left the hospital, but not with the children they gave birth to. The case gained huge media coverage on December 21 after weeks earlier one of the mothers suspected she was raising someone else's baby and took a DNA test.

The two mothers embraced their biological children in the office of one of the lawyers of the families, without representatives of the institutions present. What we found out is that this meeting was extremely emotional. The exchange took place out of court because the documents of both babies were filled out absolutely correctly and this enabled the case to be resolved quickly. However, both parties will seek financial compensation from the hospital. Again, an out-of-court settlement will also be sought.

The family, who chose to stay away from media attention, sought legal counsel after a DNA test confirmed their suspicions that they were not raising their biological child.

"They were scared, they were stressed out, then I could see sadness. Now, months later, I see happiness," said Stoyan Stoykov, a lawyer for one of the families.

The other family also remained silent in front of the media today.

The two mothers emotionally welcomed their biological children in the office of one of the lawyers.

"The two mothers were crying and crying because they were actually seeing their children for the first time. Especially my client was seeing her child for the first time, she had never hugged her," Stoyan Stoykov said.

The out-of-court settlement was reached after talks between the lawyers of both parties.

"My colleague and I saw each other, we sat down, we thought about the option, we decided to talk to each of the parties to seek an agreement between the parties for an exchange, as this does not contradict the law in view of the fact that the accompanying documentation for both children was genuine, there were no mistakes made in its preparation," said Stoyan Stoykov - a lawyer for one of the families.

The news was also greeted with joy and relief at Sheinovo Hospital. In the first days, when the case became known, the hospital explained what had happened was a string of unusual coincidences - the bracelets of the mothers and babies were placed correctly, but the children were put in the wrong cots and taken not to their biological mothers.

"Everyone breathed a sigh of relief once we found out the exchange had taken place. This incident was extremely traumatic not only for the two families, but also for the entire staff of the hospital," said Vili Kostadinova, a lawyer for Sheinovo Hospital.

Neither party has any legal claims at the moment. However, damages will be sought - lawyers for both families have already spoken with hospital representatives.

"We have told them what we think is right, they have told us what they think is achievable. Only time will tell whether we come to a voluntary settlement, which is my preference, or whether we ask the court to rule justly. I have suggested that they formally lodge their proposals with Sheinovo Hospital so that these proposals for compensation can be discussed. Sofia Municipality is competent to decide on whether a possible agreement, judicial or out of court agreement, should be concluded," added lawyer Stoyanov.

In order to prevent cases like this in the future, the Health Ministry has brought together the heads of all maternity units across the country. They discussed the standards of maternity care and the rules of the whole process from birth to the discharge of the babies from the hospitals.

The babies switched at birth will be returned to their biological mothers

Head of "Sheinovo" hospital: Those responsible for the switching of the babies will be punished, there was no intent in what happened

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