Babies Accidentally Swapped At Birth Refuse To Return To Biological Parents

Indian toddlers who were accidentally swapped at birth refused to return to their biological parents after a DNA test confirmed the mistake.

A week after being discharged from the Mangaldai Civil Hospital in 2015, Salma Parbin realized that her son, Jonait, was not biologically hers. DNA tests confirmed after nearly three years that the toddlers belong to different families, BBC News reported. Since the babies wanted to stay with the couples that raised them, the families were expected to inform a judge Wednesday of their plans to raise each other's sons.

"When I saw his face, I had doubts," Parbin told BBC News. "I remembered the face of the other woman in the labor room and he resembled her. I could make out from his eyes. He's got small eyes, no one in my family has eyes like that."

Parbin tried to convince her husband that Jonait was not theirs, which led her to explain her theory that the baby actually belonged to the tribal Hindu family that was also in the delivery room.

"A week later, my wife told me, 'This baby is not ours.' I said, 'What are you saying? You shouldn't talk like this about an innocent child,'" Shahabuddin Ahmed, Parbin's husband, told BBC News. "I didn't believe her, but she kept insisting."

Ahmed told the hospital of the couple's suspicion, but it was quickly disregarded by an employee who suggested his wife seek psychiatric assistance. He subsequently filed an information petition in an attempt to get further details about the deliveries of both families at the hospital.

The father received feedback about seven mothers, but the details provided about a tribal Hindu woman caught his attention. Like Parbin, the Hindu woman gave birth to a 6.6 lb baby. Both births also occurred within five minutes of each other. This led the Muslim family to reach out to the Hindu family by letter, which resulted in Parbin and Ahmed traveling to meet the Hindu couple — Anil and Shewali Boro — and their son — Riyan Chandra.

Upon the Muslim family's visit, Parbin reportedly realized Riyan was her son immediately. Parbin was prepared to swap the children immediately, but the tribal woman initially refused to do so.

After a DNA examination was completed and confirmed the parents' suspicions, the couples went to court earlier this month to swap the toddlers. The families, however, realized they couldn't proceed with the switch because they believed the children would have a hard time coping with the drastic lifestyle changes, the Independent reported. Both children also reportedly cried as they refused to let go of the relatives they grew to know.

The parents are currently working towards creating a schedule that will accommodate regular visits in an effort to allow each couple to be apart of their biological child's life. The boys, however, will have the option of choosing where they want to live when they grow older.