Mothers of Swapped Babies Refuse to Give Them Back

The mothers, who each gave birth to two healthy daughters in a hospital in the southern town of Trebic last December, have been caring for what they believed were their own children. Then, last month, the mistake by medical staff was revealed.

Since then dozens of reporters and television crews from around the world have swooped on a small town near the Austrian border which is home to the two couples — Jan and Jaroslava Cermak, and Jaroslava Trojanova and Libor Broza.

The parents, who only met for the first time last week, have now retreated to a confidential location to receive psychological counselling and agree on what to do next.

However, in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph at a remote location in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands, the bewildered parents revealed that they will not exchange their babies, Nikola and Veronika, until Miss Trojanova, 25, comes to terms with what has happened.

Miss Trojanova, a factory worker, said she would not be able to give up the baby she still considers her daughter. Visibly shaken and on the verge of tears, she said: "She is my daughter. I cannot look at her in any other way. I cannot imagine separating from her."