Switched at birth: woman discovers the truth 40 years later


Common conceptions of “switched at birth” accidents appear mostly in the form of entertainment. Films such as the 1999 drama Mistaken Identity depict two baby boys given to the wrong families in the hospital, only to discover the mistake 18 months later. We’ve seen the same nightmarish scenario depicted in the ABC Family series Switched at Birth. The Peabody Award-winning series follows two twin girls learning they were switched at birth and must now rebuild their lives. Mostly these stories have been works of fiction depicted on the screen and in literature. Who would believe that such an egregious mistake could ever truly happen?
Although data suggests a switch at birth is extremely rare, it does in fact happen. There have been alleged reported cases in the U.S. including a major case in 2012. A mother sued a Chicago hospital for sending home her child to the wrong mother. An alleged incident in 2008 reported that a Brooklyn mother breastfed a child who wasn’t hers. She was handed the child by a nurse who allegedly mixed up the name tags. She sued the hospital but the case was dismissed. A Chicago hospital even implemented a system that would prevent such a disaster. They created joint mother-child sensory bracelets that could only pair with one another.



In the U.S. there have only been eight documented cases of baby switching. Data is difficult to gather, as it requires extensive investigation and many people choose not to come forward with their discoveries. Two years ago a French mother, Sophie Serrano, learned that her child was switched with another child 20 years after the mistake occurred. She raised the child only to realize that, as the child grew up, she resembled the rest of her family less and less. They conducted a DNA test and found her biological daughter in a nearby town. The families sued the hospital but they refused to pay, blaming it on the nurse who was later dismissed.
What would you do if you realized you or one of your siblings were switched at birth? What if you discovered the truth 40 years later? That’s just what happened to one family in Moldova. Every parent’s worst nightmare became a reality for the Lashtur family when they discovered that their daughter Tatyana was switched with another baby girl born on the same day. We take you on the family’s incredible journey to find the truth and their hopes to make up for the time they lost.
[post_page_title]Moldovan beginnings[/post_page_title]
On March 27, 1978, Tatyana Muradyan was born in a Moldovan hospital. The newborn’s mother, Vera Lashtur, felt something was wrong from the moment she took baby Tatyana home. The child had trouble eating and sleeping at first. She cried non-stop and kept her family up at nights. Doctors were confused about the baby’s lack of ability to connect with her mother. They were at a loss for explanations. why can’t this mother and daughter bond?

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