Prague - The whole nation has been captivated this week by a story of two Czech families inadvertently swapping their newborn babies right after the birth ten months ago and finding out about it only now.
The fatal mix-up took place in a hospital in the city of Třebíč, some 160 kilometres south-east of Prague.
The truth emerged only after one of the fathers thought it strange his little daughter looked nothing like him or his wife, and suspecting her of infidelity had a DNA test done which indeed proved he was not the biological father of the kid.
After his wife underwent the same test it became clear that little Nikola was no child of hers either.
See you in court
The biological parents of Nikola were eventually found with the help of the hospital and when the two families met, they agreed on swapping their daughters, Nikola and Veronika, once again.
The story doesn't end there, though. First the police have to finish their investigation into the matter to find out whether the mix-up wasn't a deliberate action by someone from among the hospital staff.
Besides, the hospital might be sued by the father whose curiosity brought the whole truth out. He believes he and his wife should get a compensation of one million Czech Crowns for each month they were raising someone else's baby. That is 10 million CZK in total.
The real suffering has only just begun though, say the experts. For the parents as well as for the little ones, especially for them, in fact.
Double harm for the kids
Professor of psychology at Prague's Charles University Lenka Šulová whose field of expertise is the child development in the early stages of life, claims the fatal mistake at the hospital will affect them heavily.
"The first months of child's life are very important for its development, especially for the relationship with the mother. A very specific bond is formed," she explained in an interview for Aktuálně.cz.
"Those children will be harmed twice, both by the mix-up after the birth and by another swap after ten months," she said stating her concern over the case.
Professor Šulová also believes something rather unusual must have happened during the birth which probably resulted in the hospital staff not showing the baby immediately to the mother.
"Once a mother sees her child, she will always recognize it, by looking at it, holding its hands or just smelling it," she says.
