Mothers discover their babies were switched at birth | 60 Minutes Australia

it's an impossible choice one that no parent should have to make surrender the child you have lovingly raised in order to take back the child to whom you gave birth it's the unthinkable dilemma facing two mothers after their babies were switched at birth now the children are four and the mothers have only recently discovered the truth it is a story that's as heartbreaking as it is perplexing a mix-up as bizarre as any hospital could make because these two children are not even the same sex there's no greater love than a mother's [Music] and there's no greater sadness than losing a child one way or another in a Zippo and miner will lose either the child they raised from birth or the child they gave birth to it is a choice no mother should ever have to face remember the words they used yes they said the baby is much yours and I almost died because it felt like I had just lost the child it's bedtime and that means storytime fazham ah [Music] this story will end happily but Samas and the Zippos may not they're started here on August the 2nd 2010 at the Oliver Tambo Memorial Hospital in Johannesburg in the maternity ward to young mothers have just given birth one to a baby boy the other to a girl everything went well and they showed me the baby and actually I gave birth to a baby girl the nazeebo who already had a son a baby girl was the answer to her dreams we had everything we wanted a boy and a girl and that's all eleven mothers gave birth by cesarean section that day but for two of them an unfortunate set of circumstances would change their lives forever both mums needed post-surgery care so didn't get to see their babies for any great length of time but critically they were attended to by the same Midwife who somehow put the wrong name tags on each baby despite helping to deliver them and despite their different genders immediately separated from her newborn and in a haze of painkillers nazeebo did not get to see her baby again for another two days he didn't even look like me and what's worse I've got to change his nappy of Honor that it's a boy and that just blew me away because I knew I gave birth to a baby girl what did you say to the nurses I asked them if they had made a mistake and they said no and they actually laughed because they thought I was making that story up [Music] with the hospital ignoring her claim that she'd given birth to a girl nazeebo took the baby boy home and called him Zama a little brother to ban deal but in your mind had you resolved your concerns in my mind it was that I made a mistake and so I just took the blame and kept quiet I said maybe I made a mistake nazeebo didn't have much to give Zama other than love a single mom living in a poor Johannesburg neighborhood utterly unaware that on the other side of the city another mother was raising the little girl nazeebo had given birth to [Music] so when you took your baby home from the hospital did you have any doubts that this was your child no I wouldn't have it dog gives my child [Music] unlike Nazif Oh Myna was sure from the moment of birth that tandy was her baby her daughter but two and a half years later came the heart-wrenching truth when's Armas father demanded a DNA test I went there and we were not a match the baby's blood didn't match minds or his when you saw Zama then after those results did you feel any differently towards him no it didn't he made me love him even more because obviously he didn't have anyone to take care of him I was the only one and I couldn't just abandon him he was still mine is that how you thought of him oh that still is your baby yes Zama wasn't hers but hers was he and where was an easy pose charmed the South African Department of Health tested all the other mothers who'd given birth that day they had to find out where my baby was my real great baby [Music] finally there was just minor and tandy left to check the test all the living mothers so now is only me now and then see ya it's not your poverty colic baby it's not your biological babies yeah I am NOT the baby's mother so I say no you lie I start to scream that time I say no you like this is my baby they say no and I start to cry now as I know this is my baby okay they say no be strong they know no this is my baby I stuck my body to shake I'm shaking the whole body now they try to give me the water as they know I want my baby this is my baby yes I know there is nothing easy about any of these made Starck when you see the women and their children come together for the moment for each mother weekly meetings like this are their only chance to spend time with their biological children until it's decided which mother will have custody of which child [Music] what was the moment like when you got to see your daughter oh my god it was so amazing the first time I actually cried and I saw her it seemed as if I've known her like my whole life so I was so happy and I was so happy did you want to take her home that's how I wished I wished I could just take her home with me and that broke my heart what makes it worse is that Myna herself refuses to believe the DNA tests no science in the world can convince her that tandy is not her natural born daughter and she has no feelings for Sam ah but do you accept it biologically that you have a son not a daughter I accept about you you know that baby that I she grow up with me it is not baby when you say sama what sort of feelings do you have for him I'm not feeling nothing I'm feeling nothing also is a baby yes this is my baby but according to me [Music] after an hour of hugs and catching up on her daughter's well-being nazeebo must say goodbye again what is it like to say goodbye to your daughter it's always said I mean my heart becomes happy as we arrive and it breaks little by little as I watched the clock on the wall ticking it's almost time to go and we'll have to separate again the Zippo is yet tells armor-all band deal of the mix-up at stake is not just the bond between mother and child but between brothers have you ever considered not telling them yes but I really have to tell the truth so that they see that I'm not just I wasn't living in live the future for these children is currently being decided by the High Court of Pretoria a decision guaranteed to bring a great deal of pain since each mother wants the opposite outcome what would you like to see happen what do you think the court should say yes they're caught they were seeded with ripe tavini yes but I wouldn't think really survive so if I'm understanding you you're saying if the court makes you give your daughter away yes that you cannot survive that decision I think I will be killing myself it's better to to die because I like a daughter so much what do you want the court to decide having to take and keep your biological child the one you don't have a bond with the one you'll have to start all over getting to know is that what you want you want the court to decide please your daughter goes home with you yes and zama goes home with this other family yes even though it's going to break our hearts but it's it's what it's supposed to happen I don't know how you can say that you know when zama cries when you go away from him I mean what do you think it would do to him to live with us with these strangers I'm just as I said it's going to break the lots and lots of hearts I have a four year old I could never imagine giving him away I mean how would you recover for that I admit I do I I don't want to give him away but I'm I'm just caught up in two worlds and I'm the one suffering in between despite facing such uncertainty and such heartache minor and nazeebo are drawing on extraordinary resilience forming their own little family of four and refusing to give in to the despair of a future no longer in their hands do you ever expect your lives to be whole again yes and actually I think it has pratas growth as individuals look at us today we're still standing and I guess we have to be strong to face it and face whatever is coming our way I hope that they both get the love that they deserve and nothing less [Music] hello I'm Tara brown thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our Channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 2,910,924

Rating: 4.6796188 out of 5

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam, Bartlett, Allison Langdon, Tom Steinfort, south africa, johannesburg, switched at birth, babies, birth, hospital, high court, moral dilemma, babies switched at birth

Id: UZKwX6F_2_g

Length: 14min 12sec (852 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 02 2018