A mother was left in complete and utter shock when she discovered the baby she had been caring for was not her own.
Maisie Beth, 22, from Poole, was stunned when she went to change her baby girl's nappy and realised she had been looking after a baby boy instead.
The mum, who was staying in the maternity unit at Poole Hospital was horrified, and demanded to know where her newborn daughter Isabella was.
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Isabella - also known as Belle - had been staying in a separate location in the ward, due to her needing phototherapy, which is a treatment for jaundice.
One evening, Maisie went to visit her daughter but found her with a midwife in the office.
She explained she found the situation confusing, considering Belle was supposed to be in her crib receiving phototherapy.
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The new mum headed back to her room with her daughter, never imagining that she could have been handed the wrong baby.
But when the time came to return Belle, Maisie decided to change her nappy, only to find that she had actually been caring for a baby boy.
"I went to the toilet on my way back and the midwife came out of the office and told me to come in because they had Isabella in there and I just assumed they taken her out with her phototherapy crib while I was in the toilet," said Maisie.
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"They told me they had her there for a while because she’s been crying a lot, and I did think this was strange because she wasn’t allowed out of her photo therapy crib, and I’d also just been cuddling a baby in the nursery."
Maisie ran to the midwives' office and demanded to know where her daughter was.
She says the midwife explained that Maisie looked identical to the baby boy's mother and she had confused the two women.
"My thought was oh gosh I hope nobody noticed that I was cuddling a baby that wasn’t mine," she added.
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"Nurses then told me that she looked exactly like me at this point it was so early and I was two days postpartum so we just didn’t question anything and I took the baby back to my bed.
"The mum was asleep on a completely different ward from me and I don’t know if she ever knew that the baby was passed to me.
"My instant reaction was that somebody had stolen my baby. I was absolutely terrified after four years of infertility. I thought I’d lost my baby after giving birth to her.
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"As far as I’m aware, Isabella was still in her phototherapy crib this whole time across the hall from me, but I have no idea what went on while I was in bed with the other baby.
"When I saw her again, the relief I felt is unexplainable. She was still asleep in her little car and it didn’t seem like anything that happened to her but I instantly felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt for the other mum.
"After the incident it was never really spoken about again."
Lorraine Tonge, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Dorset, said: “We are investigating an incident in our maternity unit in September 2023 in which a baby was handed to the wrong mother.
"We deeply regret any distress that was caused and have reached out to the mother to offer her support.
"We would urge her to get back in touch with us to assist us in our investigation. The safety of our parents and babies is the highest priority and we are committed to providing full support to the affected families.”
Tyla has also reached out to University Hospitals Dorset for further comment.
Lucy Devine