Doctor: Silly Woman Should Have Known I Switched Her Baby

The story of the two 12-year-old girls who recently discovered they were switched at birth has sparked a huge controversy in Russia over “birth houses.” People are complaining that they handle too many patients and women are treated brusquely, occasionally leading to similar mix ups. Anya and Irina’s families each received $100,000 in compensation, and they say they’ll use the money to build houses next to each other so they can raise the children together.

Incredibly, the maternity ward staffers suggested in interviews that they don’t deserve all of the blame. A nurse pointed out that the babies’ “last names were almost identical.” In another interview Dr. Aleksandr Andryenko added, “To be honest, it is very difficult for me to understand how, after you have received your baby, after it was brought to your breast, how could you accept another baby that is brought to you.” The New York Times notes that he was “shouted down by the studio audience.”