By Chris Glorioso
A New Jersey mother is suing the hospital where she gave birth, claiming nurses gave her the wrong newborn to breastfeed.
Melissa Richman, 39, of Ridgewood, says The Valley Hospital failed to double-check identification bracelets when maternity ward staff retrieved her hours-old baby for a 4:30 a.m. feeding. Twenty minutes into breastfeeding the infant, Richman says the nurse came back with shocking news.
“She actually said there was a terrible mistake. This was not your baby.”
In their lawsuit against The Valley Hospital, Melissa Richman and her husband David say the breastfeeding mixup deprived their newborn daughter of colostrum, the nutrient-rich milk produced by a new mother in the hours immediately following childbirth.
Source: I-Team: Hospital Accused of Switched-at-Birth Breastfeeding Blunder in Lawsuit | NBC New York https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Breastfeeding-Mother-Given-Wrong-Newborn-Baby-Mix-Up-New-Jersey-Hospital-Lawsuit-413329873.html#ixzz4YHMhAMQ9
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Careless. When I was there I thought that all their checking and rechecking of wrist tags was a bit over the top.
I am not sure how I feel about the lawsuit. Opportunist? Is it any worse than other lawsuits against hospitals? It was the key bonding and nutrition time.
Valley should just settle quickly. Bad publicity
I think this was a major level goof-up but a lawsuit? Seriously? How was their child deprived if all that the mother did was feed another child ONCE!
So glad Valley is leaving town.
People really need to get over themselves. Suing? Really?
Guess this proves all babies really do look the same!
9:17 are you delusional thinking Valley is going to abandon that building? Maybe they will convert it to an inpatient drug treatment center. Apparently there is a severe shortage of those facilities in NJ.
12:51…I heard methadone clinic to address the heroin problem in Northern NJ. Its a growth area. I also believe they are trying to get a NJT bus line from Patterson over to Linwood. It would go through Fair Lawn, to bus depot and then to Valley.
there are already buses from Ridgewood bus station to Newark and Paterson,the 752 runs down Linwood past valley, bergen pines and Hackensack
and actually will run close to the new Valley facility in Paramus near Fairway
Looks like the Richman’s called their NYU Law-ya friend asap least they loose an opportunity to put some cash in the bank because of someones mistake that did ABSOLUTELY no harm to their child. I fear for the child’s safety simply because of who the parents are. Time to call DYFS.
Good point James.
It is really sad. We had a very nice community hospital and now it has come to this. All those popping the champagne today have about 4 years to unload their houses while the new hospital is built. Then instead of $5-$10 million in PILOT payments, Ridgewood will get years of construction to create who knows what kind of medical facility. Elections have consequences and Valley heard the message loud and clear.
Valley did it all to themselves, and I am sure they will wear out their welcome in Paramus soon enough
There is no $$ in methadone rehab or any other medicare type program. The $$$ is in same day surgery, cardiac care, etc. Valley will not invest in any treatment offering that lacks an adequate return on capital. They have zero interest in caring for any patient that needs to take the bus from Paterson. that is not why they run TV ads and why they spend $millions on their “brand”. .
I don’t know if this qualifies for a lawsuit but I think they are more than justified in their claim. Each breast feeding mother gets one shot at providing her child the extremely important nutrients and antibodies provided in the first nursing. This has been proven to provide the infant with antibodies against various illnesses that are not obtained from subsequent nursing. So, yes, it was “only 20 minutes”. but it was THE 20 minutes that provides your infection protection. Their baby did not get to receive this because of the hospital’s mistakes. Thus, the lawsuit.
You always need to BE there with your family member whenever one goes to the hospital. You need to stay with them at all times. Always be present to check on medications, tests and if they are correctly ordered and given to the right patient. Always ask questions if its the correct one for the patient, and if questionable, have the supervising nurse page the ordering doctor. Unintentional mistakes, mix ups do happen, even with a double, triple check system. Patient may not be aware of all what goes on, and you do need family to stay with them 24/7 to oversee that all is correctly followed.
How can anyone suggest that this is not a big deal? A mistake, for sure. But a big effing deal if it is your kid.