Bath time safety is an important part of drowning prevention and awareness for parents of young children.
An eight month old baby boy has survived a close call this evening after briefly being left unattended during bath time at his home in Sydney’s west. The eight month old boy was being bathed when his mother briefly left the room. When she returned to the bathroom the baby was face down in the water and his face was blue.
Following the 000 call a response, including the Head Injury Retrieval Team helicopter, was initiated by the NSW Ambulance service. The babies mother performed CPR and on arrival of the Ambulance the baby was conscious and breathing, and the helicopter response was called off. The baby was transported to Nepean Hospital where he was reported as being in a stable condition.
Bathtub drowning statistics
Drowning remains a leading cause of death in 0-4 year olds with bathtub drowning’s accounting for 15% of deaths in this age group. The 2010 National Drowning Report shows that five (5) children died in baths during the 09/10 year.
On average a further forty seven (47) children are admitted to hospital annually following non-fatal bathtub incidents and almost one quarter of these children will suffer some form of brain injury, leaving them with disabilities for life.
Highlighting the importance of CPR skills
Following the successful resuscitation of a child at the Blacktown Leisure Centre at Stanhope Gardens this is the second near drowning incident in a few days where the importance of parents and members of the community knowing CPR has been highlighted. If the mother of the eight month old had not performed CPR the outcome for the Western Sydney baby could have been significantly different.
The Samuel Morris Foundation is encouraging EVERY parent to learn CPR so that they are armed with the skills to save their child’s life like this evening, or someone else’s life like at the Blacktown Leisure Centre.
Bathtub Safety Tips
BE PREPARED – Have everything ready and near the bath tub before starting to bath the children
Keep your baby within arms length and make sure that ALL children are actively supervised during bath time
NEVER leave a child unattended in the bath
A baby or child in a bath needs ALL of your attention ALL of the time.
LEARN CPR and FIRST AID – if an accident does happen you will be armed with the skills to save a child’s life.
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