Why newborns should never be left alone with toddlers

Parents tend to assume that falling accidents only happen when a baby is able to flip or knows how to crawl. This is why there are so many warnings to remind us never to leave babies unattended on an elevated area like the bed or a changing table.

What can you read in this article?

• Leaving newborn babies unattended with young children
• Effects of dropping a baby accidentally
• When to rush your baby to the hospital

However, there are external factors that could lead to accidents involving dropping a newborn baby, like an overtired mom or an unexpected fall. In this case, it was a non-malicious, unintended accident caused by the twin newborns’ two-year-old toddler sister.

Leaving newborn babies unattended with young children

In the short video below, a pair of newborn twins are seen lying down on the bed with their two-year-old sister watching them. Their parents were nowhere to be seen and there was no other adult together with them in the room.

One of the twins started crying. Acting on instinct, the two-year-old sister went over and tried to comfort him. But when her brother continued to cry, she bent down to pick him up after seeing other adults do it many times before.

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She was only trying to help

But she ended up lifting him up the wrong way (not her fault) in the video. Without supporting his neck and back she hoisted her newborn brother and flipped him up and over on to her shoulder.

Now, she’s pretty small herself. With the combined weight of her younger brother and the force she used to flip him on to her shoulder, both of them ended up falling backwards. She ended up dropping the newborn baby, and he fell head first.

The cries that rang out after she dropped him were bloodcurdling. Bewildered, his sister sat there and tried to carry him again to comfort him when a lady rushed in screaming at the terrified little girl.

Effects of dropping a baby accidentally

I cannot help feeling sorry for the little girl because none of this was her fault. Still, this scenario is such a common thing in households all over the world.

Yes, you might argue it is neglect. But sometimes this is the result of not having enough helping hands around the house when you’re too preoccupied with other tasks and think that nothing will happen if you leave young children unattended. It happens to ALL OF US. Unfortunately, dropping a newborn baby has its consequences.

When the soft head of the baby strikes a hard surface, the delicate, developing brain may hit the skull. This causes blood vessels to rupture resulting in internal bleeding – also known as a hemorrhage. Even if there is no bleeding, there is still the risk of swelling, which may create pressure in the brain.

In worst-case scenarios, a concussion could happen, which could affect the functions and development of the brain. When a baby was accidentally dropped, you have to seek medical attention. Even you are not seeing external injuries from your baby.

Because your baby might have a skull fracture or internal injury, and a brain injury that might affect his overall development. That’s why it is important to seek medical attention immediately after your baby was accidentally dropped to the ground.

You should be also aware of the warning signs that your baby might be experiencing. Here are some of the warning signs you should be aware of:

• Irritability
• Imbalance
• Headache –  you may notice your baby is crying in an unusual way

Things you have to know about your baby’s head and skull

You probably notice that your baby’s head is really soft and his/her skull is not yet hard. Their head is a large portion of their body. And their body is still developing.

A skull is not a single bone if you don’t know, it is made up of different bones and sutures. These bones and sutures allow your baby’s brain to develop and your baby’s body also.

There are two soft areas of a baby’s skull, it is called fontanelles. It is protected by a soft membrane that goes over the tissues of your baby’s brain underneath.

When your baby reaches 18 months to 2 years old, your baby’s anterior fontanelle, remains soft. While the posterior fontanelle that is located near the occipital bone or above the base skull above the back of the neck closes on the first few months of your baby’s life.

What are the possible injuries your baby might have

When it comes to injuries your baby might have when she or he accidentally drop to the ground. You think of these possible injuries according to Healthline. Here are some of the possible injuries your baby might have:

1. Concussion

It is an internal injury where the brain does not work the way it should for a period of time. It ranges from mild to severe effects. Signs of concussion include headache (a baby might constantly cry), balance issues, irritability, and vomiting.

2. Skull fracture

Of course, a skull fracture is when there’s an injury in your baby’s skull. There are 4 types of skull injuries, these are linear (a break in the bone that doesn’t move), depressed (the skull is sunken), diastatic (the fracture is along the suture lines), and basilar fracture (fracture on the base of the skull).

Take your child to the hospital immediately if they are showing any of the symptoms below:

• convulsions
• drowsiness
• vomiting
• unconsciousness
• a visible bruise or swelling in the head region
• bleeding from nose, ears, or mouth

If there is an incident where someone ends up dropping a newborn baby accidentally, please remain calm – even if you’re anything but.

Take a deep breath, get over the panic and try to calm them down like you would if they were waking up and screaming in the middle of the night.

If your baby calms down after a few minutes, and if he is responsive, smiling, and behaving normally, then he’s probably alright.

Do a quick once-over: Check for bumps, bruises, bleeding, and move their arms and legs. If it wasn’t a fall from a considerable height, then they should be okay. But to be sure, you can always bring them to the doctor to have a more thorough check-up.

Please be reminded that you should not leave your baby to a toddler or someone who doesn’t know how to take care of a baby. So that accidents like this will not happen.

Republished with permission from theAsianParent Singapore

Additional information from Marhiel Garrote

Source:

WebMD, FeedyTV, Fatherly, Healthline

Here at theAsianparent Philippines, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advise or medical treatment. TheAsianparent Philippines is not responsible to those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend to consult your doctor for clearer information.