New parents noticed baby was often ‘drowsy’—a grieving mom’s Instagram post changed his fate
Being first-time parents can be a challenging experience. With so many firsts coming in at once and a fragile newborn to look after, it is easy to get anxious. Each second is crucial when it comes to raising a newborn or an infant and anything can go wrong. When Matt and Laura Bradbury-Stewart became new parents to Sam, they were determined to do everything right, The Metro reported. Suddenly, during the first few days, the parents noticed something unusual about their baby. Sam seemed more drowsy than usual but the couple suspected he was just sleepy, as most babies are. A grieving mom, Beth Simpson, changed the course of events and saved their son.
Sam was delivered at 37 weeks via C-section after Laura experienced some complications. Nevertheless, the delivery went well and the baby was fine. Just three days later, they noticed something was off. “Sam seemed to get really sleepy, and he wasn’t waking up to feed. As much as we would try to rouse him, he wasn’t opening his eyes or interacting with us,” the mom recalled. Their midwife hadn’t pointed out anything suspicious and so the parents didn’t seek help. Yet, something bothered their thoughts. “We were wondering, ‘Is this normal?’ ‘Is he just really sleepy?'” the mom mentioned.
Around the same time, as Laura was scrolling through Instagram, she came across the Lullaby Trust page and saw a post about Beth Simpson, a grieving mom who had lost her son, Joshua, eight days after his birth. Joshua died of an infection. One way to check was to take the temperature of the child. According to Stanford Medicine, a fever can be an indication of whether a newborn has an infection. In some cases, the child’s temperature might instead drop. Either way, it is crucial to monitor the temperature and see a doctor in case of any change. When Laura saw the post, she instantly got off her phone and took Sam’s temperature — it was lower than what it should have been.
The parents headed straight to the hospital. While they were in their car, the mom couldn’t tell whether Sam was breathing, so they called the ambulance. “We pulled over into a layby, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. It took an hour. It was horrific. I was just a complete mess – I had to get Matt to sit in the back seat with Sam. I couldn’t watch,” she recalled. The days-old infant was diagnosed with apnoea. According to the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, the condition causes absence of breathing for under 15 seconds in a newborn. It is most common among premature babies.
The more premature, the higher the chances. For children like Sam who are born at 35-45 weeks, there is a 10% risk of apnoea. The infant was given a resuscitation bag and sent to the NICU. He was kept in an incubator and was given antibiotics, and underwent tests. Sam had contracted an infection from the hospital but luckily recovered due to timely medical help. Crediting the timely post, the mom said, “I don’t think I’d have taken his temperature. I didn’t even think about it being low.” “We both wonder if I hadn’t seen that Instagram post and Joshua’s story, whether Sam would be with us now,” she added.
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