A story from a Zambian nurse has the internet wondering if what she’s saying is a hoax or is a shocking truth.
A nurse who calls herself Elizabeth Bwalya Mwewa has claimed that she had a habit of swapping babies in the maternity ward of the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka. Mwewa also stated that her motives were “just for fun.”
However, Mwewa has also revealed that she has terminal cancer and is dying soon. Hence, she has confessed and is asking for forgiveness.
There are also those who doubt and question her story. It’s questionable how no one was able to notice what she was doing. Furthermore, it’s also reported that the swapping happened over a span of twelve years, from 1983 to 1995.
Despite the claim being doubted by many, the Lusaka Times conducted a preliminary investigation on the matter. The investigation then found that the hospital didn’t have a nurse or a midwife with the name Elizabeth Bwalya Mwewa during 1983 to 1995, further supporting the possibility of her story being a hoax.
Forgiveness, however, seems to be hard when thinking of the 5,000 babies who are now adults. How would they be notified? Would a DNA test have to be done to confirm?
Stories of babies being switched at birth, as much as they sound like a plot for movies and TV shows, have happened on several occasions.
Back in India in 2015, two babies were switched, albeit accidentally. DNA testing took two years and confirmed that the babies were indeed switched. However, the parents refused to switch the children as they had already grown attached to their families.
The same story also happened in 1998 in the United States. Rebecca Chittum and Callie Johnson were switched at the University of Virginia Hospital.
Many continue to hope that Mwewa’s upsetting story is merely a hoax.
