CZECH REPUBLIC:Two Czech baby girls who lived with the wrong families for almost a year after being accidentally swapped just after birth have been returned to their biological parents in time for their first birthdays.
Libor Broza only realised Nikolka was not his child when he sought a DNA test to quash village gossip about the blond-haired, blue-eyed baby who bore no resemblance to either of her brown-haired, dark-eyed "parents".
When his wife, Jaroslava, had her own DNA test, it showed that neither of them had a genetic link to Nikolka, who was one of five children born at a hospital in the town of Trebic last December 9th.
Tests revealed that the Brozas' baby was living in a nearby village with Jan and Jaroslava Cermak, who had called her Veronika, and that Nikolka was the Cermaks' child.
The couples agreed to swap their babies before their first birthdays, and prepared for the exchange by taking turns to look after the two girls, who were born 18 minutes apart.
"We took the decision for our daughters," Mr Cermak said of this week's swap. "At their age, they are beginning to perceive the world around them. It was time to act."
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