Mom Sues Shanghai Hospital Over Mix-Up

By Tongfei Zhang

“After 28 years I just realized he is not my baby!” says a heartbroken mom surnamed Zhang, who delivered a baby named Wang Ye 28 years ago at Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital. Zhang recently found out that Wang wasn’t her real baby, and decided to sue the hospital for a compensation of RMB1.3 million (USD193,000).

Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital said in a statement on Saturday that it was “deeply shocked by this incident and expressed sympathy to Zhang’s family.”

The statement continues, “The hospital has established a special team to look into this issue. It may be hard to find out the truth though since it’s been 28 years, but we will fully cooperate with the investigation… and we will surely take responsibility if any mistakes are found.”

Zhang underwent a caesarean section on February 27, 1989. The baby was then brought to her three days later as babies and moms stayed on separate floors at that time.

“He didn’t wear name bracelet when the nurse gave it to me. I remember he kept crying badly and refused my breast milk,” Zhang recalls.

As the baby grew up, Zhang’s husband began to have doubts as ‘his son’ did not look like him. Meanwhile, rumors that Zhang had an affair began to circulate among friends and family.

The couple eventually divorced in 2004, but her ex-husband didn’t give up pursuing the truth. In 2011, he requested a DNA test and the result showed that Wang Ye wasn’t related to either of them.

“I couldn’t believe this. Not until now. I can’t handle it at all,” says Wang Ye.

Is it possible that the two boys were mistakenly swapped in the hospital at birth? After visiting the hospital many times, Zhang was told that the files from 1989 could no longer be found, so she had no choice but to file a lawsuit in 2016.

The Jing’an District People’s Court confirmed that the lawsuit had been filed according to the Paper, while both Zhang and Wang say they want to reunite with their real son and parents.

“I hope both families will get along well if I manage to find my biological son. It would be a blessing if both families can have a happy ending,” says Zhang.

[Images via the Paper and Sina]

This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family (WeChat ID: urbanfamilyshanghai). For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website by clicking "Read More" below or follow the bilingual Urban Family WeChat account by scanning the QR code below.