Florida mom Joii Brown and her husband were thrilled to finally welcome to their baby boy to the world, but a mix-up at the hospital has left the new mother concerned.
On Thursday, Brown told News4Jax that she’s speaking out because nurses at Orange Park Medical Center accidentally handed over her son to another woman.
The incident occurred after her son was taken to undergo a circumcision. The mom thought he would only be gone for 30 minutes and became worried when an hour and a half passed.
That’s when hospital staff informed the mom that they’d accidentally given her newborn to a stranger, who even breastfed him. Brown said:
“These two nurses walked in and they said that they took my child in another girl’s room and they mistakenly thought that was her child and not mine and she ended up breastfeeding him for two minutes. […] I was really scared. It was shocking.”
Brown was told that the mix-up occurred due to a “human mistake.” They said a nurse failed to check the child’s wristband.
The mother said she is now worried about her son’s health because she doesn’t know if the woman who breastfed him was on any medications.
She told News4Jax:
“I know everybody makes mistakes, but this is something I feel like is more than just a mistake because, just looking at a wristband, that’s something really minor. All you had to do was look at the wristband and see that isn’t her child.”
Despite her concerns, the mother wasn’t able to get any information about the other woman due to privacy laws.
The baby boy was tested shortly after the breastfeeding occurred, but Brown said she’s still worried:
“My main concern is that it could have been something other than breast milk. And that (it) could happen to anybody’s child.”
Brown said that her family is currently talking to lawyers about legal options.
Orange Park Medical Center said in a statement that it “will do everything we can to follow the family’s wishes and support the family.”
