Texas Mom Proves 'Baby Switch' at Birth After DNA Test

switched at birth DNA Test c-section Cesarian section texas el salvador baby switch

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald Mar 24, 03:39 am

Photo: (Photo : EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP via Getty Images)

No one believed a mother's instinct when she claimed that her baby was switched at birth at the hospital until she got a DNA test that proved her allegations.

Texas mom Mercy Casanelles had her baby through a cesarian section and was not able to see the child for some hours because she was still in recovery. All that Casanelles could recall was that she was still able to kiss her newborn before he was taken to the hospital's nursery.

Despite being under heavy medication due to the C-section, the mother also remembered getting a short glimpse of her newborn. She mentally noted that he looked like her husband, Rich Cushworth. So, when the hospital staff brought her son in the next day, Casanelles insisted that he was not her child.

The mother, who has an older son in his teens, didn't have that familiar bond when breastfeeding her newborn. However, the hospital staff disagreed with the mom and told her that she was so out of it after the baby's birth. Every person who has visited her at the hospital also did not believe that her real baby was switched at birth, according to Amomama.

Jacob and Moses: Switched at Birth

Casanelles gave birth in her hometown of El Salvador, where she and Cushworth worked as missionaries. Before her due date, the mom had to fly back from Texas to El Salvator to have her visa fixed. However, Casanelles experienced labor earlier than planned; thus, her baby was born prematurely. On the other hand, the baby's father stayed behind in Texas and was resigned to wait for Casanelles to return with their son.

Because no one believed her, Casanelles brought the boy, whom she named Jacob, back to Texas with her. However, she immediately unloaded her suspicions to Cushworth when they finally reunited. They took a DNA test.

Two months later, Casanelles had proof that her mother's instinct was right all along. The DNA test confirmed she and Cushworth are not biologically related to Jacob. The result showed a zero percent link.

Casallenes and her husband then took the matter to court in El Salvador so that they could track Jacob's birth parents and find their biological son. The ordeal took months to unfold, and when they finally found their real son, whom they named Moses, he didn't immediately bond to Casanelles and Cushworth.

"I was just a caregiver to him, just another person in his life," Casanelles revealed, per Daily Mail.

Casallenes also felt Jacob's loss even as the baby was only theirs for a few months. The family was not able to properly part with their "son" as the exchange between the other parents was rushed.

A Breakthrough with Moses

According to The Mirror, Moses appeared to have a speech and feeding issue due to what happened to him since the first day of his separation from Casallenes. But she worked hard on him and made every effort to bond with her biological son.

Finally, Moses had a breakthrough at three years old and uttered the word "mama" for the first time while looking at Casallenes. The mother, who now feels complete, said that she and her husband don't plan on keeping this extraordinary experience a secret from Moses when he is a lot older.