Babies Switched In NYC Hospital
Let me just say that part of this story is absolutely awful – that a maternity ward’s security practices could fail so miserably that two newborn babies are mixed up for several hours is criminal.
HOWEVER, every time I hear a re-telling of the story of Shatiesha Brown’s baby being given to the wrong mom in the New York City hospital’s maternity ward, I am more mystified by her misplaced anger.
Brown told a NYC news station that she was outraged that her little girl, Aniya Victoria, was breastfed by another woman at Brookside Hospital.
OK, so what? I’d be flipping a lid over the fact that my newborn child was given to someone else to begin with. That she was breastfed by that woman. . . eh. . . as long as the woman had no communicable diseases, who cares?
The thing is, Shatiesha Brown was told by her doctors that her dangerously high blood pressure had to be monitored. For twenty-four hours, they said, she would have to be separated from her newborn. It’s during that period when hospital staff apparently took little Aniya Victoria to the room of another new mom, whose last name was also Brown and whose first initial was also S. The other new mom breastfed the baby and posed for pictures before the mistake was discovered.
Now Shatiesha is claiming that her daughter suffered nipple confusion and that the hospital ruined all her plans to breastfeed the little girl with the mistake. “The bond that you have when you breastfeed your child, that’s everything,” she told ABC 7.
Except that’s not how nipple confusion works. Moving from breast to breast isn’t an issue – if it was, babies would have trouble moving from the right side to the left on a mom who has different shaped or sized nipples (which is actually most of the population). Nipple confusion comes into play when a newborn baby feeds from an artificial nipple – which Aniya Victoria would have done ANYWAY if mom and baby were to be separated for twenty-four hours. Even then, babies can still make the switch, albeit with some difficulty, and many women report successful breastfeeding of a year or more after their baby received an artificial nipple during the very early days of life.
The mother I feel for is the one who breastfed Aniya Victoria . . . while her own baby lay in the nursery, missing out on the colostrum that’s chock full of nutrients and antibodies.
Shatiesha is suing, of course (doesn’t everyone?). I agree she has grounds to demand the hospital be held accountable for the mix-up itself, but I’m smelling a cock and bull story here.
Would you be more upset over the mix-up or the fact that your child fed at someone else’s breast?
Image: ABC
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I am bothered by how some ppl are automatically assuming this mother/child are on assistance. I realize that this situation took place in an inner-city hospital to a young black mother who is now suing and this seems to piss some ppl off, but would you all be so angry at the mother if she was a 35 yr old white, married, mother of four? Probably not, you’d most likely be outraged for her. Perhaps she wasn’t educated enough to fully express her hurt and anger, but be that as it may she still has every right in the world to seek compensation and action from the hospital for having such a breech in protocol that her daughter was switched long enough to have the opportunity to be nursed by another woman. Whether you agree with me or not doesn’t matter. I will say that I am a married, pregnant 23yr old white woman and if someone had my baby for even a min. I would be bringing that hospital to it’s knees, God’s honest truth ladies…
You didn’t even read the article did you? And someone so helpfully supplied the link too.
For that matter, you also didn’t completely read this thread either. I never took issue with how you felt about *this* case.
If you want to continue to engage in this conversation, we should find a more appropriate forum for we have gone quite far off topic.
Nonetheless, I really recommend reading and ruminating on the article, as linked in the above comments. You might awaken to a perspective you never considered.
Then I want my priveleges, darn it!
That is my point. My being white does not make me born to privelege. It is a stupid accusation making racism a battle that will never be won. Like someone on here said, not everything requires the race card. To be perfectly honest, until you started the rant on backpacks I didn’t even think about the ethnicity of those involved. It carries no weight in my mind of how I feel about this case.
Maybe if you would remove your invisible blindfold and come out from behind your invisible baracade you would see that we are not against you. No accusations are being thrown your way. Some of us white folk don’t really give a rip about race. We see people as people.
Twyla, you were the one lamenting that complaints regarding the lack of mothers of color on “In the Motherhood” was political correctness run amok, correct? I’d say you have your backpack fully loaded and in place!
I had an emergency c-section after being induced due to extremely high blood pressure. I was not allowed out of my bed and my mother was told I could have a seizure at any time risking the baby’s and my life. After the c-section my daughter was taken straight to NICU because she had something to the effect of traumatic birth issues. Basically, breathing complications. I was on morphine and slept for 6 or so hours after birthing her. When I woke I couldn’t remember what I had done that day.
If her story is anything like mine, the nursery should have been a safer place for the baby. I could not have taken care of, nursed or cuddled my infant. It was a very scary time. I was not in the clear for over 24 hours after birthing.
The hospital was probably trying to help mom recover and rest. They screwed up, plain and simple.
By the way, MistressScorpio, where can I get an invisible backpack? I am a white woman who gets dirty looks all the time for having 4 kids. I had the most ridiculous conversation with someone when I was pregnant with the last kiddo where she all but told me she was disgusted that I would put this burden on society. Yeah, we had private insurance and no help from any agency. So, again, I ask where do I get this backpack you are so ready to market?
I already have questions regarding the 24 hour period she had to be separated from her baby. I’d like to know more about the reasons for that. I know that you can’t breastfeed on certain anti-seizure medications… (high enough blood pressure will cause them) did the hospital administer them? Otherwise, monitoring someone’s high blood pressure is exactly that… monitoring.
If it were me in her situation, someone would be missing a face, ’cause I would have ripped it the eff off.
I would have been crazy if someone else got to hold my babe first. And to get to nurse them first too? Just crazy! And then you add on the raging hormones. Watch out!
It’s also possible that she thinks her child is rejecting her milk, even if that’s not true. Maybe she is just having breastfeeding problems, maybe she is emotionally overwrought (I was when I had my kids, and there was no hospital mix-up), maybe she is just really upset about someone else bonding with her baby, and seems to be focusing on the breastfeeding in the article because that’s the part they decided to quote.
And my response to that, is that the nightly news always needs a hook, otherwise it doesn’t *make* the news. Breastfeeding controversy seems to always make the news these days.
However, I’m willing to admit that is conjecture on my part. I asked if there were a lot of things possible that influence the situation, rather than portray her as opportunistic and declare that she lacks common sense. I try to have a little more empathy.
It is unlikely she, or the other mother will win their cases. She doesn’t know how breastfeeding *really* works after having three kids? Cock and bull story! Her whole claim will be summarily dismissed out of hand… just like it has by you. But hey, feather in your cap. Enjoy.
I’m sorry Mistress, I thought I did address that – the woman said the child wouldn’t accept her breastmilk . . . wouldn’t accept? Meaning was having trouble with taking it from another source? Which is commonly referred to as nipple confusion?
In fact, by bringing up nipple confusion, I was giving this woman a little MORE credit as having some common sense.
But if you’d prefer we play it your way, we could go back to the fact that the baby was not going to get her milk for 24 hours ANYWAY, which would negate your understanding of her claims – that this had to do with the “taste” of the milk itself. And thus would show that this mom is trying to get the sympathy vote by claiming her chance for breastfeeding was ruined by the big mean hospital.
Yes, I said in my post several times that I feel for her over the mistake as a whole. Yes, I said she has grounds to throw a holy hissy fit. But the claims she’s making about the breastfeeding portion of it are ludicrous, and easily discredited. And that’s where I have no sympathy.
To many first places in my last comment! I will gladly receive sentence structure lessons if my greater point (HINT: not backpacks, invisible or otherwise) is addressed.
Jeanne – the reason I am defending this woman is because YOU blatantly misrepresented her claim in order to make your point. Twice I have pointed that out and twice you have chosen not to correct yourself or acknowledge that fact.
And clearly you never read (or didn’t understand) the article on the invisible backpack. It’s an article written by a white woman that points out how even she has trouble seeing her privilege and advantage in a society where she is the majority. I made that statement because of *Tinker’s* assumption that the woman was on welfare. I also referred to invisible backpacks on the post about ABC’s “In the Motherhood,” after I stated that women of color weren’t represented, and someone responded to the effect of “WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SO P.C.???”
See, only from a position of privilege can someone completely disregard that anyone might want to see their experience reflected in a major network program that claims to be about something as broad a subject as “motherhood.”
Of course, white people can be oppressed! My point about privilege doesn’t discount that fact. Socioeconomic status plays an enormous factor in oppression.
Nevertheless, if I wanted to point out that someone’s statement was racist, I would state it directly… no need for a veiled accusation. “Invisible backpack” is my shorthand to get people to challenge their assumptions. Typically, people unaccustomed to having their assumptions challenged react as you did. (“B…b…but I voted for Obama! You’re playing the Race Card!!!”) Would you like to go for the trifecta and tell us how your best friend is black, as well?
But since none of that was directed at you in the first place, how’s about you address the point I made to you about misrepresenting this woman’s claim in the first place?
Elendy: I agree with you that lawsuits don’t make healthcare any better for patients or their caretakers. Unfortunately, healthcare is a business and many times the threat or carrying out of a lawsuit is the only way to get them to revise policies. I actually did some volunteer work in a hospital in Pennsylvania that had a chip in the clip that they use on the newborn’s umbilical stub. The chip was synched with one in the mother’s bracelet and on her room door. If the baby was carried through any doorway other than the nursery or the mother’s room, an alarm would sound at the nurse’s desk. Pretty cool technology that makes life easier for the moms and the hospital workers, but I’m sure unaffordable for many city hospitals.
I think I cut my last comment off in the middle. oooops:)
Yeah I also think that the invisible backpack was brought up due to the comment made by Tinker. And there is the issue. If we were speaking of a caucasian woman and her child people would not jump to the conclusion that she was on state assistance or out to make a buck!. I think that for me I really just feel as though there is a lot of harsh judgment towards this woman that seems misplaced. She was a victim. And people are treating her as a perpetrator, a crook. I wonder why folks are having such a hard time seeing her distress as authentic?.
I think the backpack thing came up because of Tinker’s comment, although I could be wrong.
Elendy, here is a link to an article about the invisible backpack:
http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/repatriation/index.cgi?noframes;read=33358
I’d be devastated if I were in her shoes too, about the whole thing. Here she is sick and vulnerable, and entrusts the most precious thing in the world to these people to take care of, and they just hand her off to a stranger? And yes, the nursing part would upset me too.
I don’t know if I’d sue if it was me, but if the hospital staff took a “no harm no foul” attitude with me, then that would make the decision very clear.
Elendy: the white backpack is Mistress’ thinly veiled way of accusing anyone who disagrees with her on this site of racism.
It’s a theory that white people, by benefit of their race, carry with them a pack full of extra privileges. Although I certainly agree that we still have a ways to go in improving racial equality in this country, the problem with the theory is that it is too, well, black and white.
Although some people find it laughable that white people can also be oppressed, take an uneducated “white trash” hick from Appalachia who can suffer as much because of his race as despite it.
Racism is real, yes, and black culture is still unfairly represented in America (although yes, with Obama as president things are looking much brighter – woohoo!).
However, the fact that race was brought up on this particular post is evidence enough that racism works both ways. The race card is being pulled here, as it often is, to shut down discussion rather than further it.
Mistress – are you defending this woman because you believe her story or because she’s black? Because YOU Mistress, brought up invisible backpacks and race here.
We are not saying she did have something questionable in her breastmilk, we are saying she could. Huge difference. In trying to understand the bio moms position we are assuming that could be a problem.
As far as nipple confusion, my daughter was in NICU for 30 hours being fed formula through a bottle. Breast was second for her. She nursed like a champ. In fact, nurses would come into my room to see the little “shark” with the excellent latch. She had another bottle when I had to work a couple of times in her second month of life. Then, at about 10 months I tried to give her a little water in a bottle to see what she would do and she spit it out with a confused look on her face.
Not all babies are like mine. I think nipple confusion is widely overused as an excuse to not nurse. If you don’t want to nurse, don’t. It is not the end of the world to use a bottle and formula. (It may feel like it to the mother who wanted to nurse.)
Brownsville (where this hospital is located) is one of the poorest, most dysfunctional neighborhoods in the NYC – and one where suing the city (or the hospital/doctor/your neighbor/whoever!) is considered a completely legitimate form of income generation. Ask around – half the people you talk to there are waiting for their lawsuits to come through.
This whole story is BS. That woman could still BF – if she ever intended to in the first place. She’s just looking to get some attention and some cash!
The FDA and other scientific organizations back studies that show that babies prefer their own mom’s milk. Even in a blind taste test. If the baby doesn’t like her mom’s milk better, that’s odd to say the least.
Also, do people seriously think the other mom was chugging enough alcohol for it to show up in her breastmilk? Man, I’m so glad to live in a country where we think so highly of our fellow citizens.
It sucks that they took her baby to somebody else. Particularly since she wasn’t allowed to be with her. That would have been terrible for me too. The breastfeeding thing, aw, who cares. I probably would have been glad because I didn’t want my baby to get nipple confusion (the real kind).
Oh – and what is an invisible backpack?!
So, I happen to work in a NYC hospital as a nurse (not this one though) and I’m ashamed to admit that it is pretty serious negligence on the part of the staff to let this happen. Babies and moms are given wristbands immediately after birth and these are supposed to be checked (by # not by name!) every single time a baby is given to mom.
Of course, as a nurse, I can also sympathize with how this can sometimes not be done in the most thorough manner. There have been massive cutbacks at all NYC hospitals and nurses are completely overwhelmed with too many patients.
The situation needs to change – although I don’t think this individual woman filing a lawsuit is the way to go about it. This extremely litigious environment we are working in does not help make healthcare any better or healthcare workers necessarily any more careful – just more suspicious of and distant from their patients.
Mistress Scorpio, I have been thinking an awful lot about invisibles backpacks whilst reading this blog;)
I did say “probably”. 9 out of 10 births and pregnancys are done through government assistance, even if they have insurance themselves. The cost to have a baby is to high b/c of malpractice lawsuits that the government offers some type of assistance to most people.
Tinker, where do you get the idea that the baby is probably on state assistance? I really hope it’s not what I think – a really offensive assumption on your part.
Both mothers have good reason to be upset. The other S. Brown was bonding with this baby, taking pictures, nursing, maybe falling in love with this tiny girl. Meanwhile, her child was lying in the nursery without her. I would be pretty angry.
Gets even BETTER. The other mom plans to sue too. Why? Because it took the hospital another 30 minutes to even FIND her baby:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6729069
Guess this blog doesn’t accept blockquotes. Sigh.
Tinker, where do you get the idea that the child is on state assistance?
Oh, the invisible backpacks on this blog!
Perhaps the mother made the decision to accept formula being fed to her child for 24 hours, but the key issue in my opinion is exactly that… She Made The Decision. Surely that would be preferable rather than unknowingly having an some woman whose medical records, by law, she has no access to, breastfeed her baby. As for knowing whether or not the woman had communicable diseases, she has to take the hospital’s word for it.
Of course the issue at hand is the hospital mistake itself! But that wouldn’t make it a newsworthy story now would it? I live in upstate New York, where in recent memory, two hospitals made exactly the same baby switching mistake. Happens all too often it seems. Gee, I’m a local newsprogram looking for a hook… I know! Let’s make the whole story about the breastfeeding! Of course, I’m making up that last part, I have no way of knowing what the mother is MOST upset about. Then again, neither do you! And drawing on your own experience with breastfeeding difficulties does not make you an expert at discerning hers.
Oh, but Ms. Brown said that “breastfeeding was everything,” didn’t she? Or did she say it was “the bond”? Oh well, that’s all just nipple confusion under the bridge isn’t it?
I have a very good friend who happens to be a highly sought-after lactation consultant in NYC. Even SHE had difficulty nursing her third child. Even being an expert doesn’t mean you have all the answers, especially when it is your own child.
But hey, good for you for slamming a new mom going through a horrifying situation in your article… even if you have to misrepresent her claim to make your point.
My problem is:
1. Taxpayers are now paying for this mistake(hospitals are federally funded, the baby is probably on state assistance so the tests that now need to be done are probably done on welfare).
2. Breastfeeding is never easy no matter how many children.
&
3. Some people have to sue for money to fix the mistakes that happened b/c of a neglagent doctor, not every situation is a cash in exspecialy with ob/gyn’s.
I am not sympathizing with the mom but I would be outraged if someone else nursed my baby. Anything that mom ate, drank or smoked is being filtered into the infant. And we know not all new moms care about thier diets. For all we now S. Brown was a drug addict. Now, I am not saying she is but I can’t say she isn’t either.
As far as a lawsuit goes. I will start believing people are sincere when they start suing for policy and not for money. Help make change, don’t cash in on a mistake.
Seriously, who gives a crap? She got her kid in the end and everything turned out okay. Whatever happened to “no harm no foul”? Why does everyone always have to run to the media and then sue for whatever they can get. It’s disgusting. People make mistakes. Even people who aren’t over worked, eat the perfect diet, exercise the proper amount, listen to the right kind of music, read the appropriate books, and go to church 2.5 times a week make HUGE mistakes. I think that everyone in this country needs to take off the soapboxes that are strapped to their feet and start following the golden rule. Or maybe just stop making money the answer to everything. Misplaced my baby for a minute, cha ching! Fell down in a parking lot, cha ching. Accidental death, CHA CHING! Get over it.
Mistress_scorpio – I’m wondering, if the issue is that the baby is rejecting the “milk,” doesn’t the argument still stand that if they were going to be separated for 24 hours ANYWAY she would get the taste of formula and hence “reject the milk?”
Regarding the woman’s rights – I agreed that she should be extremely upset, possibly even sue, but that the issue at hand is really the hospital mistake itself. It still sounds like she’s trying to make an awfully big deal out of the pain and suffering of not getting to breastfeed – which is something that really was her decision in the end (and as someone who gave up breastfeeding because of difficulties, I know what I’m talking about here).
Also, correct me if I’m wrong here, but this was her third kid – she should know a little bit about breastfeeding by now.
I would be so wildly pissed if this happened to me that I’m pretty sure all kinds of epithets and accusations would fly from my mouth. I fully sympathize with this mom.
First off, the linked story and the video never said “nipple confusion.” The mother claim is that her baby is rejecting her milk, a different concept altogether.
Is it possible the mother could simply be having common issues getting started with breastfeeding that would typically be resolved by a lactation consultant?
Is it also possible the mother is extremely stressed about the fact that her child was handed off to another mother, that her child’s first breastfeeding experience was with another woman, and the rightful fear that she does not know what her child might have been exposed to? I’m sure the hospital didn’t hand over the other mother’s medical records to the real mom for her review, HIPPA regs and all. She was probably told by the doctors and nurses, “Don’t worry… the woman that nursed your baby doesn’t have anything!” And she can sure count on the hospital for unimpeachable information at this point, right?
Is it possible that the stress of her situation, combined with the difficulty some women face when getting started with breastfeeding have lead her to the conclusion her daughter was rejecting her milk?
In addition, what action compels hospitals to adjust their procedures, hold people accountable, and make sure a mistake like this doesn’t happen again? Their goodwill? Probably not. The bad publicity? Maybe. A lawsuit? Not a guarantee, but a little more likely. That the mother seeks some type of compensation commensurate with her distress is not horrifying or a reason to cast aspersions on her intentions.
But cast aspersions the author does, all over this article… even going so far as to provide a link on a claim the mother did NOT make, so we can all see how craven and opportunistic Shatiesha Brown must be, to twist the definition of nipple confusion for her purposes.
Or we can empathize with her. We can hope that from the story airing that a good lactation consultant reaches out to help her before her ability to breastfeed wanes. We can hope that the hospital improves its procedures.
So the lady nursed her one time? Big deal. Ms. Brown just wants a big payday and she will get it too. SAhe never intended to breatfeed her child. As for the other baby it got plenty of colustrum from its mom. You make it for a couple of days.
Everyone seems to go all gooey eyed when people talk about breastfeeding other mother’s infants. Did anyone mention anything about folks being screened prior to letting someone else nurse the infants. Let’s be a bit careful here. All sorts of diseases could be passed along in breastmilk. Before I let someone nurse my child, I’d get all sorts of blood tests for diseases and drugs. Also lets not forget that you also should be sure your nurser doesn’t smoke and hasn’t had a drink.
I’d be so incredibly thankful that the mix-up was discovered before my baby was sent home with the wrong family, that the baby having been breastfed by another mom would have never crossed my mind.
I’m gonna side with the mother on this one. I wouldnt be upset that someone nursed my child since i couldn’t, but i would be incredibly upset if the baby didnt want to take my breast after getting used to another one especially when i had plans to give her the best (breastfeeding) I think she’s telling the truth when she says that the baby doesnt want to nurse from her. the hospital made a mistake.
I am sure that she was upset at both the “mix-up” and the the fact that she was not the first to nurse her baby . I think it is a given that one would be outraged by a “mix-up” of this magnitude. Perhaps her babe being nursed by another woman is a less obvious reason to be distressed but I understand her needing to voice it. Why are we picking on this woman again?