Bytte Bytte Baby or Maybe Baby is a Danish film made under the able direction of Barbara Topse-Rothenborg. Starring famous faces like Katinka Lærke Petersen, Mille Dinesen, and others, the film has a fantastic execution. This comedy film could be compared to the famous Bollywood comedy Good Newwz, where couples who are unable to conceive naturally seek medical help, resulting in a disaster. Bytte Bytte Baby focuses on two couples who are left with no choice but to come to an understanding among themselves when they find out that their fertilized eggs have been exchanged due to the mismanagement of the fertility clinic. The well-knitted comic plot cracks us up, and the portrayal of different human emotions during pregnancy has also been well-depicted in the film. Will the mothers get to have their own babies? Let’s find out.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens In The Film?
Bytte Bytte Baby revolves around the story of how two families get connected to each other through a maternal knot. We see two couples, Malte & Live and Andreas & Cecilie, longing for children as they struggle to have their own. They try all kinds of procedures to conceive but fail and eventually end up in a fertility clinic. We see both couples going through a lot of hassles and procedures for the artificial insemination, which eventually comes to fruition. Both women seem to have gotten pregnant almost at the same time. While Liv is happy about her first pregnancy, Cecilie is a bit stressed about hers because she is almost 42 and they have been unlucky before. The two families’ lifestyles are quite different, as both families have different economic backgrounds and beliefs. While Liv’s family is more into spirituality and ergonomic stances, Cecilie disregards those practices as “hocus pocus”, and appears more on the capitalistic end.
Their lives were all going perfectly fine until they received a call from the clinic. They are all informed that there has been a swap of fertilized eggs. Both families are furious upon hearing this, and Cecilie even thinks of suing the clinic. Later, both families are seen wondering as to how the babies would turn out to be. Cecilie’s family says that the baby might have mental or physical disabilities as these issues were genetic, and they didn’t know anything about the other family’s medical history. The families later plan a meeting to discuss swapping their babies, and we see the eagerness of them all except Liv to trade off the child in her belly for her own. While Cecilie is eager to get her child, Liv seems to have doubts about the exchange, and she wants to feel the connection that she has with the child before making any decisions.
Why Did Cecilie Want To Make A Contract?
Cecilie is stressed at the thought of Liv not wanting to hand over her baby after giving birth. She makes a contract and goes over to her shop to get it signed. Liv takes the paper but again expresses her doubts about conducting the swap. Later, when they go to the hospital to get their routine checkup and a gender revelation, Malte finds out that Liv has not told him anything about the contract. He wanted their child to have their own genes and therefore agreed to the contract, immediately signing the papers, making Cecilie and her husband feel relieved.
Why Do They Set Rules For Each Other?
Both mothers seem to entertain some guilty pleasures while pregnant, thinking that they are carrying someone else’s children. While Cecilie gorges on junk food, Liv engages in occasional drinking. Cecilie does not seem to like Liv’s hippie lifestyle and thinks that it might be bad for her baby. While at a restaurant, both the ladies listed certain rules that they were to follow in order to keep each other’s babies safe. We see a stark contrast between the two women when we see that their lifestyles are completely different. Liv asks Cecilie to go vegan, while Cecilie asks her to eat meat, as the baby needs nutrition. Cecilie also says that Liv and Malte could not keep a cat at home, as the litter could infect the fetus. So they agreed on keeping their cat at Cecilie’s place instead.
Both the women’s pregnancy hormones have been shooting through the roof, and their reactions to those have been hilarious! Despite several differences, the two women seem to bond over their mutual interests. At Cecilie’s baby shower, the women bond well when Cecilie feels a kick in her stomach, and they both celebrate the moment. However, Cecilie’s guard goes up when Liv tells her that their children could be friends, but to her disappointment, Cecilie says that they would not have much in common. Later, we see a major conflict between Cecilie and Liv regarding Liv’s delivery. Cecilie wanted her to undergo a c-section as the baby was in a critical position in the womb. On the other hand, Liv wanted a natural delivery, and upon being pressed too much, Liv walks away, stating that she did not want to swap and that she would find legal means to keep the baby.
How Do Liv And Cecilie Bond During Cecilie’s Labor?
Cecilie’s tough outer shell cracks when she has an altercation with her husband about her being too selfish and driving everyone away. She realizes her mistake and goes out on a search for Liv, only to find her sitting in a cafe. While talking to Liv and apologizing about the incident, her water breaks, and she is rushed to the hospital. Both the husbands could not be contacted all throughout the labor, as they were busy drinking together, therefore leaving no choice for Liv but to take all the responsibility on herself. She tries comforting Cecilie throughout the labor, helping her to deliver a healthy baby girl.
After a few days, we see both women holding their own children after the swap and celebrating their journeys together. During Bytte Bytte Baby’s ending, we hear two men at the fertility center talking amongst themselves. They state that there had been a major mistake on their end, as both ladies were carrying their own children throughout! Through this entire journey, the ladies are finally able to understand the value of motherhood and the bond between a mother and child that goes beyond blood relationships.
Final Thoughts
Bytte Bytte Baby has been entertaining and is replete with witty comic scenes. Despite having a complex storyline, the execution was pretty straightforward, making us enjoy it throughout. The skilled actors have been able to pull off their parts pretty well all throughout the 1 hour and 40 minutes. The story is a beautiful depiction of the amazing bond of motherhood between two women. Despite having a bittersweet relationship, they have been each other’s biggest supporters in times of crisis.
