It was a vigilant aunt who first realized that something was wrong in Sør-Odal in 1954. The new baby did not look like the others in the family. When the aunt saw the child of the sydama in the poor village, she realized what must have happened. – It is okay to make mistakes, but in such cases it is a little more tragic than other human errors, says Finn Martinsen (68). He remembers nothing of the dramatic event that happened in Innlandet in December 1953. But for the first six months of his life he lived with another family in the village and was called Per. By mistake, he was sent home with another woman in the village from the delivery room at the hospital in Sør-Odal. His own mother brought with her a boy she thought she had given birth to a few days ago. Per Lysakerud and Finn Martinsen were born just a few hours apart in December 1953. The mothers were in the same maternity ward. This led to the boys being replaced. Photo: private The blood tests showed the error The aunt’s vague suspicion led to the mothers having blood tests taken to establish the kinship between parents and children. They showed that the boys had been changed. Half a year had passed by then, and both families had formed strong bonds with their little boys. Finn Martinsen’s mother was haunted for the rest of her life. – It was very hard to give up a youngster she had nursed and looked after for half a year, he says. He says the mother became demented recently, but still did not forget the changing of the boys. The two baby boys were featured in the magazine Aktuell in July 1954. At that time they had just been returned to their rightful families. Finn Martinsen on the left, Per Lysakerud on the right. Photo: Faksimile / news An avalanche of stories Finn Martinsen is surprised that it now turns out that several children may have been switched at Norwegian birth centers. He thought that the routines were changed after he and Per were confused in 1953. news recently told the story of Mona, who after 60 years discovered that she did not grow up with her biological family. In retrospect, many have contacted news and told about short-term changes in maternity wards and maternity wards. – What I have seen in these cases is that they have been marked, among other things, with silk ribbons. It is easy to imagine that they can fall off, when the child loses weight after birth, among other things, says Malin Stensønes. She is secretary general of the Norwegian Women’s Sanitetsforening, which built up and ran many of the maternity hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, together with public authorities. Stensønes believes that the public health system must now try to obtain an overview of how many changes may have occurred in Norwegian maternity hospitals and maternity wards. Secretary General Malin Stensønes of the Norwegian Women’s Sanitation Association believes that the public healthcare system should try to obtain an overview of changes. Photo: Snorre Tønset / news The Directorate of Health has not started mapping No one knows how many babies may have been confused, for a shorter or longer time. Division director Helen Brandstorp in the Norwegian Directorate of Health says that they have not yet started any survey of any cases. She recently appeared on news and apologized to the woman in Western Norway who only discovered after 60 years that she did not grow up with her biological family. – If more people come in, we have to go into this even more clearly, says Brandstorp. She does not rule out that mention of baby changes leads to more cases being rolled out. She believes that families who discover that they have been involved in exchanges must first and foremost ask the local healthcare system for help. Here at the hospital in Sør-Odal, two boys were born in December 1953, one on 22 December and the other on 23 December. They were confused. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news Swapping babies on the gravel road The baby swap in Sør-Odal in 1953 must have led to an incredible dilemma for the two families. Should they keep the boys they had already formed strong bonds with, or trade them? They decided on the latter. It took place on a dirt road in the tiny village. While the little boys were in the pram, the mothers rolled towards each other, stopped the Vosges and switched babies. Then they went on and carried on with their lives. – For us, Per and me, there has been no problem. It’s the parents, and primarily the mothers, for whom this has been tough, he says. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news HeyHey! If you have tips or input, please get in touch!
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Two babies were changed at the hospital in Nord-Odal – after half a year they came home – news Vestland
