A mom has shared a stark warning about babies, after her six-month-old daughter suffered a sickening skull injury from rolling off a table.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every hour one child dies from an injury, and about one in five deaths among children occur because of an injury.
"Every 4 seconds, a child is treated for an injury in an emergency department," the CDC says on its website.
Parents know they need to keep a close eye on children of any age, but those who can't walk also need close supervision, even if they're in a supposedly safe environment.
This is because they can roll, sometimes falling off of high surfaces, such as beds, sofas or changing tables.
"Car crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires, and falls are some of the most common ways children are hurt or killed," the CDC added.
A significant fall, onto a marble floor, is the situation one mom was faced with, as she changed her daughter's diaper at her in-laws' house.
Australian-based Tiny Hearts Education, led by mom and paramedic Nikki Jurcutz, shared the frightening situation on their Instagram page last month.
Sharing the story with Newsweek, Tiny Hearts Education, which says "we teach you what the hospitals don't," advised: "If your child has fallen from a height that is double their height, they need immediate medical attention.
"Even if they look completely fine. Even if they looked like they didn't land that hard. Even if it was an accident. "
The post shared the mom's story, who remained anonymous, as she said: "I was changing my 6-month-old daughter's nappy on a change table where wipes were positioned behind me.
"She hadn't started rolling without assistance or much speed yet, but as I turned around to grab a wipe she rolled off the table onto the marble floor landing on her side.
"I picked her up and my mother-in-law drove us straight to the hospital 5 minutes away. When she fell your advice of 'any fall more than double their height' came up in my mind.
"In the car she was closing her eyes falling asleep, I kept her awake until we reached the ED.
"They admitted us for 2 hours of monitoring, however the junior doctor hadn't felt the impact site and I was noticing a cephalohematoma emerging."
Cephalo means the head, while hematoma refers to a bruise where blood pools under the skin, outside the blood vessels.
Healthline explains that a cephalohematoma injury is typically caused during labor, saying: "Cephalohematoma (CH) is a collection of blood between a baby's scalp and the skull. Damaged blood vessels release the blood, and the blood pools into a mass under the skin of the scalp...
"The most obvious CH symptom will be a soft, unusual bulge on the back of a baby's skull. You likely won't see a cut or bruise on the surface of the skin over the bulge."
It appears the new mom saw a similar mark forming on her daughter's head, just like the post-birth cephalohematomas.
She continued: "I advised the nurse who got a senior doctor who agreed to scan her head where they found a 5cm fracture, but thankfully no bleeding or obvious brain damage.
"I had watched a lecture the day before coincidentally on pediatric trauma that advised that a cephalohematoma is a fracture until proven otherwise."
And she praised Tiny Hearts, adding: "I didn't even realize I'd read a post of yours and remembered it until I was in shock."
The Tiny Hearts team shared some tips for new parents, advising that the "signs and symptoms after a fall don't always show up straight away.
"Falling from a height that is double a child's height puts them at risk of a moderate to severe head injury." And they stressed always calling 911 for "moderate to severe head injuries."
The post has amassed some 15,000 likes since being shared last month, as parents praised the mom for sharing her story. The_dairyfairy said: "Wow this is such great information! Thank you for sharing this!"
Sarebear_81 wrote: "This hurts my heart. Thank God she's ok. Poor mumma would of been going crazy."
Taylalaland said: "Can't walk away from that change table now."
Jchcmc added: "Brilliant advice... so many parents are ignorant and slack about bumped heads!!"
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Rebecca Flood is Newsweek's Audience Editor (Trends) and joined in 2021 as a senior reporter.
Rebecca specializes in lifestyle and viral ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
