Samantha and Nick Stuhlener have described themselves as 'traumatised' after spending 45 minutes with a child they believed to be their son, Levi - only to discover that it was another couple's baby.
Nurses at St Vincent's Private Hospital in Melbourne are believed to have handed over the child without checking its wristband, leaving the Stuhleners' actual son in a 'settling' room.
The couple had bonded with the child for 45 minutes, before staff realised their mistake. Staff at the hospital also sent the Stuhleners a package meant for another family instead of the apology letter they had been promised.
Commenting on the shocking incident to the media, the hospital's chief executive Ian Grisold said: "It is extremely regrettable and our staff and myself feel gutted by the incident. We unreservedly apologise and take full responsibility for the incident."
He added that both children had been fitted with the correct identification tags, and that "at no time was either baby picked up, held or fed by anyone other than their parents".
Mrs Stuhlener has since said that she doesn't believe that Levi had no contact with the other mother, admitting that she has encountered problems both bonding with, and breastfeeding her son.
