Italian babies switched at birth to swap back

Italian babies switched at birth to swap back
REUTERS

ROME, DEC 29: Two girls who were accidentally switched hours after they were born will return to their rightful families on New Year's Day, their third birthday, Italian media reported on Friday.

The children have grown up in the same street in theSicilian Port town of Trapani but with the wrong parents since they were swapped over on January 1, 1998, after being taken by nurses to be dressed in the hospital.

The mix-up was discovered earlier this year after one set ofthe parents told the Abele Ajello hospital they believed their daughter was handed over wearing different clothing than the clothes they had brought to the hospital.

Blood tests subsequently confirmed the suspicion.

Rai state television said the confusion had brought theneighbours closer to each other and that the two families had celebrated Christmas together. They will do the same on New Year's Eve before the girls return to their rightful parents.

One of the girls will suddenly become an only child, leavingbehind two brothers aged five and eight. The other will go from having her mother at home all day to a home where both parents work, Rai said.