The exchange of newborns at the EsSalud III hospital in Yanahuara, Arequipa, has generated outrage after the parents of a baby with hypothyroidism reported that they were only informed of the change eight months later, a period during which their daughter was exposed to the risk of HIV.
According to the testimony of the parents, only the December 10 they found out that their baby had been exchanged with another newborn and who, for approximately 10 hours, remained with a mother diagnosed with HIV, who even breastfed him.
According to what they said, the baby was born on March 19 and was delivered two days late, under the argument that she remained in an incubator. The mother was discharged, but her daughter stayed in the hospital for another week and only March 26 they took her home, without being informed of any irregularity.
“After 19 days she was hospitalized again due to a diagnosis of hypothyroidism for 3 days. From then on, no one from EsSalud contacted us”mentioned the mother in Exitosa.
It was last Wednesday when the couple was summoned to the hospital, at which time they received the news that their little girl had remained with another mother, who was later diagnosed with HIV. After this alert, The parents and the baby were subjected to tests, the results of which were negative.
RISK
However, doctors warned that there is a risk windowespecially in newborns, which can last up to one or two years, which keeps the family in constant uncertainty.
Likewise, the couple questioned that no one from EsSalud had contacted them for several months and criticized the statement issued by the institutionconsidering that it minimizes the seriousness of the event. They noted that the only response received was that a nurse would be retired.
“Practically, they tell us that our baby has a minimal chance of having the virus. There are not nights that we don’t cry (…) What do we do, if she has the risk of contracting the virus and it becomes active after a year. We have two more daughters”said the father on the radio station.
Faced with this situation, the parents demanded an exhaustive investigation, sanctions for those responsible and guarantees for the medical follow-up of their daughter.
