Ntsebeng Motsoeli
MASERU — A woman who claims her live baby was exchanged for a dead one at Queen ‘Mamohato Memorial Hospital is demanding an independent DNA test to ascertain maternity of the baby.
‘Mabokang Raletaja gave birth to a baby boy at the hospital last month but claims nurses switched her baby and gave her a dead one.
Raletaja told the Sunday Express on Friday that the hospital had offered to conduct DNA tests to prove that the dead baby was indeed hers.
But she said she declined the offer arguing she could not trust the hospital authorities to conduct an impartial assessment.
She wants an independent doctor to conduct the tests both on the dead baby and the live one.
“I do not trust them. They have messed me up. They have changed my files. They can also lie about the test results. I want them to use an independent doctor,” Raletaja said.
Raletaja still insists that she gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the hospital only to be given a dead one a few hours later.
She said she even got to breastfeed her baby before she was told that she had fed the wrong baby.
She said she was later told her baby had died after developing some heart complication.
The distraught Raletaja said hospital authorities told her that she was mistakenly given a baby that did not belong to her for feeding.
However, she is still adamant that the baby she breastfed was hers.
Raletaja claims the hospital authorities initially refused this request saying the tests were costly.
But when the hospital finally agreed to use their own specialist to conduct the tests, she refused.
“They have refused to provide the names of the doctors who operated on me during delivery.
“They also refused to let me meet all the doctors who were working at the hospital the afternoon I gave birth to the baby so I can identify who helped me. I still remember their faces. They are the ones who know the baby I gave birth to,” she said.
Raletaja said she also wants the tests to be done on the living baby.
“I was told that the tests will be done on me and the dead baby. That is not fair. I also want them to conduct the tests on the living baby.”
Attempts to get comment from the hospital authorities were not successful.
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