SWAPPED AT BIRTH

After 55 years, two women discovered they'd been living a life that had never been meant for them

- MISHAAL KHAN.

'ALL TOO MUCH' I was swapped at birth and only found out at 43... then my biological family totally rejected me

BABY SWAP SCANDAL Mum devastated to learn her daughter had been SWAPPED with another baby 50 years ago

Many of you will recall those months spent waiting to meet your precious newborn.

You counted the weeks, all the while wondering what they looked like, and when the day would come that you'd finally get to take them home.

Imagine discovering then, after days, weeks, or even months or years, that the baby you raised as your own flesh and blood wasn't in fact yours - and that your biological child was out there in the world somewhere.

It's hard to imagine the impact such an event can have. After all, the way we're raised, who we're surrounded by and the people we call family all play a fundamental role in who we are.

In 2021, two women, born in 1967, discovered they'd been accidentally switched at birth in a West Midlands hospital. For decades, they and their families hadn't suspected a thing.

However, a DNA test taken a few years ago by the biological brother of one of the women led to the shocking discovery that the woman he thought was his sister was no relation. Last month, it was reported that both women are now in line for compensation, in the UK's first case of its kind.

Woman's Own takes a closer look at some of the baby-swapping scandals from around the world, and the long-term effects it can have on everyone involved.

‘Where’s my baby?’

It was May 2015 when Mercy Cushworth cuddled her son, Jacob, moments after he was born in a hospital in El Salvador. Jacob was taken to the hospital nursery by midwives, and Mercy and her partner Richard didn’t see their son again until the following morning, when he was discharged.