The Herald
reports that DNA tests a month later confirmed her suspicions. The tests, which
cost a considerable US$220, was conducted at a laboratory in Bulawayo’s city
centre to prove that the child given to the insistent mother by a maternity
nurse at the hospital was not her biological offspring.
“The day before
the birth, she underwent a scan which confirmed she was expecting a boy.
“After the
delivery, a nurse took the child for cleaning and returned it to the mother. The
mother, who had been taking photographs of her son, noticed the baby’s
identification tag indicated it was a girl,” said the source close to the
woman, who lives in Cowdray Park.
Initially
unaware of the discrepancy, the new mother immediately alerted the nurse,
expressing her concern. However, the nurse dismissed her concerns, suggesting
that the effects of the anaesthesia for the Caesarean section might have
clouded her judgment.
According to
the source, another expectant mother had been admitted to the ward just fifteen
minutes before the operation, but she had already been discharged by the time
the alert mother raised the alarm.
“She contacted
her relatives to inform them of the situation. Her uncle suggested DNA testing,
but the nurse vehemently opposed the idea, claiming it was too expensive and
unaffordable for the family.
“However, the
uncle insisted, and they proceeded with the testing at a laboratory in the
Bulawayo city centre.
“The results
unequivocally confirmed that the baby girl was not her biological child.”
Furious, the
family returned to the hospital, demanding answers and demanding the return of
their biological son. Hospital staff were compelled to locate the other mother,
who resided in Esigodini, Umzingwane District.
A hospital
vehicle was dispatched to retrieve her. However, the woman’s husband was
uncooperative, adamantly insisting that the child was his.
The police were
subsequently involved, and the couple was brought to Bulawayo. At the
insistence of the aggrieved family, the hospital engaged the National
University of Science and Technology (NUST) for DNA testing. The results
unequivocally confirmed that the two babies had been exchanged.
Zephania
Dlamini, head of the Applied Genetics Testing Centre at NUST, confirmed this
shocking discovery.
“In the
Bulawayo cases, two women who were in the same ward at UBH delivered around the
same time. The complainant asserted that her child was a boy, but when it was
returned after cleaning, she was given a girl.”
Dlamini further
said that when confronted with the discrepancy, the other mother adamantly
insisted that her child was indeed a boy, a claim vehemently supported by her
husband.
“He even
insisted that the ultrasound scan had confirmed the sex of the child as male.
“Before
approaching NUST, the complainant had sought testing at Global DNA lab in the
city centre, which confirmed that the baby girl was not hers.
“Our results
corroborated these findings. Subsequent testing on the couple claiming to be
the parents of the boy yielded negative results, while the boy’s DNA matched
that of the complainant, and the girl’s DNA matched that of the other woman,”
said Dlamini.
Dlamini
revealed that the entire hospital administration was present at the laboratory
during the testing process.
UBH chief
medical officer, William Busumani, declined to comment on the incident.
“We do not
discuss patient information,” he stated. Herald
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