A couple who gave birth to someone else's baby after an alleged mix-up at a fertility clinic said they were "devastated" to discover the child they had been raising was not theirs.
Daphna Cardinale, 43, and her husband Alexander said they could not experience the first months of life of their second daughter, who was born in another family after embryos were exchanged.
The mum explained: "Alexander and I are devastated, we missed an entire year of our daughter's life. I didn't get to experience being pregnant with her, or birthing her.
"We missed her entire newborn period, we never saw our baby's entrance into the world or cuddled her in her first seconds of life.
"Our memories of childbirth will always be tainted by the sick reality that our biological child was given to someone else. And the baby with I fought to bring into this world was not mine to keep."
The dad added: "When the truth came to light, it made exchanging the children all the more heartbreaking. Losing the birth child that you now for the genetic child that you don't even know yet. It's a truly impossible nightmare that inflicted trauma."
Mrs and Mr Cardinale welcomed a little girl in September 2019 and became immediately suspicious because the baby had a darker skin tone than theirs.
Initially, they put their thoughts aside as they trusted the IVF process and started raising the child as they fell in love with her.
However, two months after the birth, they decided to carry out at-home DNA tests, making the shocking discovery that the girl was not their biological daughter and they had been raising someone else's child.
The tests also meant that another couple had been raising the Cardinales' biological child, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday.
Together with the couple who had been affected by the mix-up, the parents decided to swap the girls and start raising their own babies - after missing out on their births and first months of life.
This week, they announced their decision to sue the IVF clinic where the alleged mix-up happened.
Mrs Cardinale said her family's "heartbreak and confusion can't be understated", adding she was "robbed of the ability to carry my own child".
The lawsuit explains that the couple sought help from the California Center for Reproductive Health (CCRH) and In VitroTech Labs, an embryology lab, in the summer of 2018.
In VitroTech Labs allegedly inserted the embryos into the wrong women.
The legal document reads: "Daphna was surgically implanted - against her will or knowledge - with the sperm and egg of a man and woman who were complete strangers to her.
"Meanwhile, Daphna and Alexander’s embryo was transferred to that same couple, Couple Two, a few weeks after Daphna’s transfer procedure.
"Couple Two carried to term and gave birth to a baby girl - Alexander and Daphna’s biological child - and raised her for months before Defendants’ mistakes were uncovered and proven."
The lawsuit adds that when Mrs Cardinale gave birth to a daughter that was not hers, her husband felt like something was wrong.
The document explains: "He expected to see a fair child, much like their older daughter. Instead, their Birth Daughter came out with much darker skin and jet-black hair.
"It was so jarring that Alexander actually took several steps away from the birthing table, backing up against the wall."
According to the document, some friends and family members also started questioning the couple about the baby's appearance.
The situation led to "disconnect" between the couple as Mr Cardinale - a musician - was worried his wife was in denial.
He was so upset that he would stay up at night, "staring at their newborn child, wondering if she was truly theirs", the lawsuit adds.
The document says: "After learning this, Daphna insisted they take the DNA test, expecting that the results would put everyone’s mind at ease."
After several rounds of DNA tests, the Cardinales found out the truth and on December 26, 2019 contacted the couple who had been raising their biological child.
When they met at a lawyer's office, their meeting was "terribly uncomfortable", the legal document says.
On December 31, the couples met with their children and for the first time they got to see their biological daughters.
The following day, the Cardinales told their older daughter about the mix-up and she was "crushed and terrified of losing her birth sister", begging her parents not to switch the babies.
About two weeks later, the parents officially switched their children, which took an emotional toll on the whole family.
The lawsuit states: "The horror of this situation cannot be understated."
Mrs Cardinale, who works as a therapist, and her singer-songwriter husband have had to seek help for "symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD", the legal action explains.
Adam B Wolf, a lawyer representing the Cardinales, said the second family also plans to sue the IVF clinic but wants to remain anonymous.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of several techniques available to help people with fertility problems have a baby.
During IVF, an egg is removed from the woman's ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory, the NHS explains.
The fertilised egg, called an embryo, is then returned to the woman's womb to grow and develop.
It can be carried out using your eggs and your partner's sperm, or eggs and sperm from donors.
The Mirror has contacted CCRH and In VitroTech Labs for comment.
