What to do if toppling furniture hurts your baby
Now that your baby is crawling and exploring
their world, unsecure furniture may accidentally fall on them and
cause them injury. It can be very worrying to find your baby
underneath a heavy object.
Make sure you first assess their injuries
using the primary survey.
Severe bleeding
Severe bleeding is when there is blood freely
flowing from a wound. Call for help quickly if your baby has severe
bleeding.
1. Remove any clothes from the area your baby is bleeding
from.
2. If there’s something in the wound, leave it where it is and
apply pressure around the wound with a clean non-fluffy cloth, like
a clean tea towel.
3. If there’s nothing in the wound, apply pressure directly to
it with a sterile dressing or clean non-fluffy cloth.
4. Call for emergency help. Call 999/112.
5. Apply a tight bandage around the dressing
on top of the wound. It needs to maintain pressure but not restrict
the circulation.
6. Treat for shock.
7. If the blood soaks through the first
dressing, apply a second dressing on top. If it soaks through again
remove both dressings and apply a new one.
8. Support the injured area.
9. Keep checking your baby’s breathing, pulse
and whether they can respond to you, until medical help
arrives.
Fractures
Bones that are still growing are soft, but may
split, bend or crack. If your baby looks in pain, has difficulty
moving a limb, with deformity, swelling or bruising, they may have
a fracture (a crack or broken bone).
1. Try to keep your baby still. Do not move them unless they are
in danger.
2. Support joints above and below the injury with your hands or
ask a helper to do this.
3. Call 999/112 for emergency help
4. Place padding around the injury for support
5. Monitor their breathing, their pulse and whether they can
respond to you.
Head injuries
1. If the injury is minor or just a bump and they are still
alert, sit them on your lap and try to hold something cold, like
frozen peas wrapped in a cloth, against the injury.
2. If you are worried that the injury may be more than a simple
knock to the head, especially if there is an open wound or deep
bruising or they are not acting normally, seek medical help.
3. Take your baby to hospital or call 999/112 if your baby:
- • has fallen downstairs
- • had a heavy blow to the head
- • was knocked unresponsive
- • is unusually drowsy following the injury
- • has had a fit (seizure)
- • keeps vomiting
- • has fluid draining from their ears or nose
These may indicate that a severe injury may have occurred and
your baby needs to be assessed by a healthcare professional.
4. While you’re waiting for help to arrive, keep checking your
baby and whether they respond to you. If they become unresponsive
and stop breathing normally then follow the steps for baby CPR.