According to Yahoo! News Australia, at least seven newborn babies in the past four years were given to the wrong mother at New South Wales hospitals to be breastfed for the first time. Though Health Minister Jillian Skinner says the incidents are "extremely rare," people are now calling for a list of hospitals where the mistakes happened to be publicized.

Stefanie Phillips, a 22-year-old new mom who gave birth at Gosford Hospital last year, told the Sydney Morning Herald she was informed her baby had been breastfed by another woman for two hours before she even got to make skin-on-skin contact with the baby for the first time: "I was very overwhelmed, I'd just become a new mum. I didn't know what to say" when hospital administrators later came to her room to apologize for the mix-up.

9 News asked Western Sydney University professor of midwifery Hannah Dahlen about the physical and psychological consequences of a mistake like this. Though the chances of transferring diseases to a baby through breast milk are unlikely, she said it's possible. More likely, the mother will suffer psychological damage: "It can be everything from 'Oh my God, I was feeling connected and attached to this child that wasn't mine, what kinds [sic] of mother am I?'"

In a statement, Skinner said the NSW Healthcare system has strict protocols in place for the identification of newborns in public hospitals and the separation of mothers and babies, but "in the rare cases where an error occurs, immediate serological tests and breast milk screening are undertaken. The affected mothers are offered counseling and support."

Though the government hasn't released the names of any of the other hospitals, information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed all the hospitals that reported such incidents are public institutions.

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Tess Koman Senior Editor Tess Koman covers breaking (food) news, opinion pieces, and features on larger happenings in the food world.

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