Baby switched at birth at Sibley

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Twins that were in the nicu for 2 months. They have volunteers that come in and hold the babies, we got donor milk and formula, so I don't really see this as a sky is falling moment. They screwed up, but different stories from different nurses hardly makes something a coverup any more than playing telephone with 10 third graders is a coverup. And going around trying to find the other mother (2 room numbers on a random piece of paper? I don't believe that for a minute) is just awful - you are fortunate that she was so gracious. I would not have been.

Some big differences in the two scenarios. First, I'm sure the volunteers were vetted before they are allowed to work in the nursery. I'm sure my background was not checked before I delivered in the hospital. Second, you agreed to the donor milk and formula. While the fact that the baby got formula is really not that big deal in grand scheme of things, the decision should have been the mother's. It shouldn't have happened because the hospital gave a baby to the wrong mother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, trolls, go find another site to do your damage. This author has been called a b*tch like three times and some person posted her wedding pictures and stalked her husband. And here I thought moms were supportive.

Thanks for sharing OP. I would have freaked the hell out if this had happened to me.

Nobody "stalked" her husband (although that's what he did to the new mothers in the maternity ward). It was brought up that maybe they didn't know what a hospital ombudsman was or how to file a complaint. One quick google search of his linked in profile shows that he has a masters in public administration. So, yeah, he should have known the term Ombudsman.

He's not some hayseed who fell off a turnip truck, however, the OP writes that "At the end of our hospital stay, my husband asked that the switched-at-birth debacle be entered into our daughter’s medical records..."

This is over-the-top ridiculous. The baby was given formula by a different mother and there was no medical ramification of this what-so-ever. So her highly educated husband, should have been able to track down the Ombudsman that morning without harassing women who had just given birth. Sibley didn't change their story. The OP got some information in the morning and more of it in the evening when she asked.

Yes, Sibley should be accountable in acknowledging these errors and in ensuring practices are followed to prevent them. The OP and her husband should have known how to address this issue through proper channels that respects the privacy of other patients.

Dr here-it belongs in the medical record.

Dr. here -- no it doesn't. This is equivalent medically to a nurse giving the baby a bottle.

Now a report made to the Sibley Patient Relations department should be kept in a complaint/grievance file.

I disagree. If a patients falls but is not injured it goes in the chart. Baby to wrong room but no Ebola seems along same lines.

Former nurse manager here (not at Sibley): incident reports do not get entered into patient charts. For a serious incident (like this) risk management should have been notified and they would have reached out to the family. (at least this was the protocol at the hospital where I worked)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Twins that were in the nicu for 2 months. They have volunteers that come in and hold the babies, we got donor milk and formula, so I don't really see this as a sky is falling moment. They screwed up, but different stories from different nurses hardly makes something a coverup any more than playing telephone with 10 third graders is a coverup. And going around trying to find the other mother (2 room numbers on a random piece of paper? I don't believe that for a minute) is just awful - you are fortunate that she was so gracious. I would not have been.

Some big differences in the two scenarios. First, I'm sure the volunteers were vetted before they are allowed to work in the nursery. I'm sure my background was not checked before I delivered in the hospital. Second, you agreed to the donor milk and formula. While the fact that the baby got formula is really not that big deal in grand scheme of things, the decision should have been the mother's. It shouldn't have happened because the hospital gave a baby to the wrong mother.

Everyone agrees it shouldn't have happened!!! That's not being debated!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, trolls, go find another site to do your damage. This author has been called a b*tch like three times and some person posted her wedding pictures and stalked her husband. And here I thought moms were supportive.

Thanks for sharing OP. I would have freaked the hell out if this had happened to me.

Nobody "stalked" her husband (although that's what he did to the new mothers in the maternity ward). It was brought up that maybe they didn't know what a hospital ombudsman was or how to file a complaint. One quick google search of his linked in profile shows that he has a masters in public administration. So, yeah, he should have known the term Ombudsman.

He's not some hayseed who fell off a turnip truck, however, the OP writes that "At the end of our hospital stay, my husband asked that the switched-at-birth debacle be entered into our daughter’s medical records..."

This is over-the-top ridiculous. The baby was given formula by a different mother and there was no medical ramification of this what-so-ever. So her highly educated husband, should have been able to track down the Ombudsman that morning without harassing women who had just given birth. Sibley didn't change their story. The OP got some information in the morning and more of it in the evening when she asked.

Yes, Sibley should be accountable in acknowledging these errors and in ensuring practices are followed to prevent them. The OP and her husband should have known how to address this issue through proper channels that respects the privacy of other patients.

Dr here-it belongs in the medical record.

Dr. here -- no it doesn't. This is equivalent medically to a nurse giving the baby a bottle.

Now a report made to the Sibley Patient Relations department should be kept in a complaint/grievance file.

I disagree. If a patients falls but is not injured it goes in the chart. Baby to wrong room but no Ebola seems along same lines.

Former nurse manager here (not at Sibley): incident reports do not get entered into patient charts. For a serious incident (like this) risk management should have been notified and they would have reached out to the family. (at least this was the protocol at the hospital where I worked)

Plus the nurse would have had some type of disciplinary action. In most cases though, nurses are their own worst critics and would have been berating themselves and very upset about the incident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:isn't it a coincidence that the very thing OP obsessively feared throughout her pregnancy actually came to pass?

I'm dubious, too. If you really are so fearful about this, you don't choose to send your baby to the nursery-- nowadays when hospitals are getting rid of nurseries and rooming-in is presented as crucial to breastfeeding success, it seems odd that a woman whose husband is at the hospital with her, who is very concerned with breastfeeding success, and who is anxious about baby getting "switched at birth" would request to send her baby to the nursery.

I'm not critical of the choice, but it was an unusual choice for a woman who presents herself as slavishly devoted to nursing her baby and obsessively fearful about babies getting switched around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree the title is misleading but how is a hospital giving a baby to the wrong mother not a big deal? It's a never event. That's what hospitals call these things. Also, Sibley wouldn't have lawyered up if they didn't think it was a big deal.

Right? I am flabbergasted at folks that think this is no big deal. This is a major failing for Sibley.

The "folks that think this is no big deal" are no doubt Sibley's PR or legal machine springing into action.

I bet it's the nursing staff that got in trouble for the event or are afraid of getting in trouble now that the story is public. Why else would you can the OP a rich bitch and entitled and post her wedding pictures as proof? Why? Bc for you it's personal. Sibley's PR and legal team isn't going to do that. A person who was fired or reprimanded would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now you are going to unnecessarily alarm a bunch of nervous pregnant first time moms.

Yeah. I understand why Karin wrote the article. She thinks of herself as a novelist. Rich bitch thinks she's Carrie from Sex in the City: http://www.berkshireweddingcollective.com/real-weddings-in-the-berkshires-page/2014/7/2/karin-and-craigs-berkshires-wedding-at-the-mount

She's not trying to help. She's wanting name recognition.

I'm reporting your post, this crosses a line.

Yes, again, this has got to be the nurse responsible for the mixup or someone who knows her personally. And they're making Sibley look worse, but they probably don't care about that bc they hate Sibley as much as OP right now. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, trolls, go find another site to do your damage. This author has been called a b*tch like three times and some person posted her wedding pictures and stalked her husband. And here I thought moms were supportive.

Thanks for sharing OP. I would have freaked the hell out if this had happened to me.

Nobody "stalked" her husband (although that's what he did to the new mothers in the maternity ward). It was brought up that maybe they didn't know what a hospital ombudsman was or how to file a complaint. One quick google search of his linked in profile shows that he has a masters in public administration. So, yeah, he should have known the term Ombudsman.

He's not some hayseed who fell off a turnip truck, however, the OP writes that "At the end of our hospital stay, my husband asked that the switched-at-birth debacle be entered into our daughter’s medical records..."

This is over-the-top ridiculous. The baby was given formula by a different mother and there was no medical ramification of this what-so-ever. So her highly educated husband, should have been able to track down the Ombudsman that morning without harassing women who had just given birth. Sibley didn't change their story. The OP got some information in the morning and more of it in the evening when she asked.

Yes, Sibley should be accountable in acknowledging these errors and in ensuring practices are followed to prevent them. The OP and her husband should have known how to address this issue through proper channels that respects the privacy of other patients.

Dr here-it belongs in the medical record.

Dr. here -- no it doesn't. This is equivalent medically to a nurse giving the baby a bottle.

Now a report made to the Sibley Patient Relations department should be kept in a complaint/grievance file.

I disagree. If a patients falls but is not injured it goes in the chart. Baby to wrong room but no Ebola seems along same lines.

Former nurse manager here (not at Sibley): incident reports do not get entered into patient charts. For a serious incident (like this) risk management should have been notified and they would have reached out to the family. (at least this was the protocol at the hospital where I worked)

But the patient was beyond distressed about it and wanted it noted. Think of all the subjective complaints that are noted in the medical record! At any rate, it's clearly not "ridiculously over-the top" as one suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, trolls, go find another site to do your damage. This author has been called a b*tch like three times and some person posted her wedding pictures and stalked her husband. And here I thought moms were supportive.

Thanks for sharing OP. I would have freaked the hell out if this had happened to me.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't it a coincidence that the very thing OP obsessively feared throughout her pregnancy actually came to pass?

I'm dubious, too. If you really are so fearful about this, you don't choose to send your baby to the nursery-- nowadays when hospitals are getting rid of nurseries and rooming-in is presented as crucial to breastfeeding success, it seems odd that a woman whose husband is at the hospital with her, who is very concerned with breastfeeding success, and who is anxious about baby getting "switched at birth" would request to send her baby to the nursery.

I'm not critical of the choice, but it was an unusual choice for a woman who presents herself as slavishly devoted to nursing her baby and obsessively fearful about babies getting switched around.

This exactly. The author clearly made some things up or at least embellished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now you are going to unnecessarily alarm a bunch of nervous pregnant first time moms.

Yeah. I understand why Karin wrote the article. She thinks of herself as a novelist. Rich bitch thinks she's Carrie from Sex in the City: http://www.berkshireweddingcollective.com/real-weddings-in-the-berkshires-page/2014/7/2/karin-and-craigs-berkshires-wedding-at-the-mount

She's not trying to help. She's wanting name recognition.

I'm reporting your post, this crosses a line.

Yes, again, this has got to be the nurse responsible for the mixup or someone who knows her personally. And they're making Sibley look worse, but they probably don't care about that bc they hate Sibley as much as OP right now. Sad.

You are right, only nurses can use google. Op kind of opened herself up for that when she signed her name and linked to the article she was paid to write, also trying to promote her upcoming book. It's not like they got her IP address and found her name through some illicit means.

[Anonymous]

Some big differences in the two scenarios. First, I'm sure the volunteers were vetted before they are allowed to work in the nursery. I'm sure my background was not checked before I delivered in the hospital. Second, you agreed to the donor milk and formula. While the fact that the baby got formula is really not that big deal in grand scheme of things, the decision should have been the mother's. It shouldn't have happened because the hospital gave a baby to the wrong mother.

I think the OP exaggerated a bit in her article to make it an interesting story (Ebola, WTH?) as do most journalists, but I would be pissed if I was making a good faith attempt at nursing and instead my kid was given formula without my permission. There's articles about how formula changes a baby's gut bacteria, and plus since it's more easily available typically than breast milk for a new mom, it probably stretched out her baby's stomach making it harder for OP to keep up with her supply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now you are going to unnecessarily alarm a bunch of nervous pregnant first time moms.

Yeah. I understand why Karin wrote the article. She thinks of herself as a novelist. Rich bitch thinks she's Carrie from Sex in the City: http://www.berkshireweddingcollective.com/real-weddings-in-the-berkshires-page/2014/7/2/karin-and-craigs-berkshires-wedding-at-the-mount

She's not trying to help. She's wanting name recognition.

I'm reporting your post, this crosses a line.

Yes, again, this has got to be the nurse responsible for the mixup or someone who knows her personally. And they're making Sibley look worse, but they probably don't care about that bc they hate Sibley as much as OP right now. Sad.

You are right, only nurses can use google. Op kind of opened herself up for that when she signed her name and linked to the article she was paid to write, also trying to promote her upcoming book. It's not like they got her IP address and found her name through some illicit means.

What I said is that the motivation to get so personal is noteworthy. A lot of posters have criticized without getting personal and calling people rich bitches. A few have gotten remarkably and notably personal. Occam's Razor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now you are going to unnecessarily alarm a bunch of nervous pregnant first time moms.

Yeah. I understand why Karin wrote the article. She thinks of herself as a novelist. Rich bitch thinks she's Carrie from Sex in the City: http://www.berkshireweddingcollective.com/real-weddings-in-the-berkshires-page/2014/7/2/karin-and-craigs-berkshires-wedding-at-the-mount

She's not trying to help. She's wanting name recognition.

I'm reporting your post, this crosses a line.

Yes, again, this has got to be the nurse responsible for the mixup or someone who knows her personally. And they're making Sibley look worse, but they probably don't care about that bc they hate Sibley as much as OP right now. Sad.

You are right, only nurses can use google. Op kind of opened herself up for that when she signed her name and linked to the article she was paid to write, also trying to promote her upcoming book. It's not like they got her IP address and found her name through some illicit means.

What I said is that the motivation to get so personal is noteworthy. A lot of posters have criticized without getting personal and calling people rich bitches. A few have gotten remarkably and notably personal. Occam's Razor.

You must be new here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The WaPo changed the headline to "Sibley Memorial Hospital briefly gave my baby to someone else" - they must have gotten some blowback on the title.

Oh that is pretty funny. They should take the article down and let a real journalist re-write it. I'm a lawyer and there is no lawsuit here because there is no harm. The only harm to the author is the article - I would never read one of this woman's books after reading this garbage article.

I don't have a problem with the fact that she was the one to write the article, first hand accounts can be really powerful. I just think it was incredibly poorly titled to the point of almost being trollish and the article itself needed a lot of "let's tone down the theatrics" editing. It just made it so hard to sympathize with her over a situation that would normally elicit quite a bit of sympathy.