A maternity ward mix-up of a baby
boy and girl in India has led to a furious row between the parents - with both
sets claiming the boy is theirs.
The babies were born on
the same day, in the same maternity ward, at Umaid Hospital in the western
India city of Jodhpur.
But midwives
accidentally mixed-up the babies shortly after their birth - giving the boy and
the girl to the wrong parents.
New mother Poonam Kanwar and
her husband Chain Singh were wrongly given the baby boy born to Reshmi Devi and
her husband Sagar Ram.
But the couple refused
to give the boy up when hospital staff said there had been a mistake despite
blood tests indicating that the baby girl was actually their child.
Chain Singh told the
Times of India the dispute was not because he did not want a daughter. He said:
'It is not a matter of her being a girl. I just want to confirm that she is my
daughter.'
But Reshmi Devi and Sagar Ram, believed to be the boy's biological child, have taken the baby boy home while the couples await the results of DNA tests.
The Indian newspaper
reported that the baby girl has been left in the care of staff at the hospital
since her birth on March 25.
Officials say Ms Kanwar
has offered to breastfeed the girl, but will not be allowed to do so unless she
gives an undertaking to accept the baby is hers.
There is widespread
discrimination against female babies in India despite campaigns and calls by
leaders to stop the practice.
Girls are seen as burdens requiring huge dowries, whereas sons are considered breadwinners, who will be able to look after their parents in old age.
Selective abortion of
female foetuses is rampant in the South Asian country despite the introduction
of laws against foetal sex determination 15 years ago. Cases of female
infanticide are also reported every year.
According to the 2011
census, there are just 914 girls for every 1,000 boys aged between 0 and 6
years across India, compared with the natural discrepancy at birth of 950 girls
for every 1,000 boys.
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