If your child was switched at birth, would you swap back to your natural child?

This would be the most horrible thing to happen!

It is something I do not think you can answer if it has not happened.

It would be heart wrenching to have to give away a child that you have been bringing up for 1, 2 or 3, or more years, and yet, it would also be heartbreaking to know that your natural child is with someone else through no fault of your own.

So a really difficult one, this would be to decide...

by Finy

To be responsible one would have too.

It is not my child, the baby belongs to another Mother, so yes I would....and be glad to have my own child returned to me.
Very hard to do, but for all concerned....the best & right thing to do.

A baby knows their own Mother, so all would be well after the change over.
The Mother must have her own baby no matter if it was a week-month or even a few years.

Then off to the Courts to sue!!!! big time :(

by jonaja

I honestly cannot even imagine what I would do! i believe that this situation is so horrific it should only ever be the stuff of novels or movies. Yet it has obviously happened somewhere at some time. I just have no real answer to this one.

by Jules

Happened recently. Also famous case at Kyneton, Victoria in the '50's or '60's.

I grew up in Victoria through the 60's and 70's and now I am definitely aware of this having happened so many years ago! It really IS too awful to know how to deal with or cope with,and I am just so thrilled that I have been very fortunate to have the definite knowledge of my son being mine!

Who could ever know what they would do in such tragic circumstances.

Imagine if you had been blissfully bringing up the wrong child, still you would love them. How would you part with a child you had taken to your heart and how would you deny your own flesh and blood.

What an horrendous decision those poor parents would be faced with.

by Gayle Beveridge

Oh my. This is a very complex question that would obviously require a very complex response. 'How much time has passed since you've found out?' would be one of the most critical factors - I would imagine.

by Vee

I honestly don't know what I would do. It would be an awful thing to happen.

by AJ

No idea what I would do, if it was a baby newborn of course I would want my own back...if it was a teenager...I would let it choose itself perhaps...

by fran

This is a really good question. If my child was swapped at birth I would have an interest in knowing them as well as contributing to their well being. However, I would not want to swap.

by dwatk

That sounds horrifying and heartbreaking . I am not sure what would I do in that kind of a situation , but I am sure there will be a lot of things to consider.

by BK

Just a tad 'worse' situation to 'adopting' a baby from the get-go.
IMO, if talking days to several months', probably swap.
Beyond that, toddler who 'recognizes', what to do?
Terrible dilemma to be placed in for ALL concerned.

by donjo

Wish I had been - nothing much could have been as brutal and horrendous as my parents.

by delbr

Oh, delbr, I'm so sorry you had to suffer that :(( I hope your life is blessed now.

Delbr I am sorry to hear. I wish you a happy future and present. X

Even if I had the wisdom of Solomon I don't think I could answer that. Babywise, maybe an easier decision to swap back but after that . . . . . what a nightmare. I had a friend whose mother died when she was 2ish and the father married another woman of the same name . . . they tried to pretend she was the mother but my friend never accepted her and when she was told . . she said she always knew something was not right.

by Rice

Just a hobble thing to happen to any family. There was a story on 60 Minutes last year about this subject. I think the girls were about 12, when someone found out. 1 could Google to find out the
ending, as I can't remember now.

by Miro

This would be a nightmarish situation. Depending on the age of the child I think the swap back has to be made, maybe very gradually if the child is older.
I would hope that both families could continue to play a part in each other's lives , so the children feel part of both families. There could be huge challenges like religious differences to be overcome. I would hope that each family would act from a place of love for the benefit of both children and any siblings.

by annfi