More Than Three Kids A Week Are Hospitalised Due to Pram Injuries

A new research has found that more than three children are being hospitalised in Victoria due to pram injuries.

The Victorian Injury Surveillance Unit (VISU) at Monash University discovered this based on data from July 2012 through to June 2015, which included hospital admissions, and emergency department presentations in Victoria for children under the age of four.

Data showed that nearly 600 children under the age of four were hospitalised over the three-year period from pram accidents alone. Most of those incidents can be attributed to roll-away accidents and children falling from the prams.

The VISU report showed that 79.2 percent of the reasons for presenting to hospital were caused by falling from equipment like prams, highchairs and change tables; 9.9 percent were due to ‘hit, struck or crushed’ injuries, while other injuries mentioned were poisoning and burns.

Nearly 400 babies were injured from cots and cribs, and 337 were injured from change table accidents.

In 2013, 21-month-old Cael Barton lost the tip of a finger due to the folding hinge mechanism on a Maclaren stroller.

With this alarming rate, Kidsafe Victoria general manager, Jason Chambers, urges parents to be cautious when using the nursery equipment. “When it comes to prams, the majority of injuries do come from falling. But there are also occasions when children can suffer an injury from cutting themselves, or piercing their skin on sharp edges…Children can also suffer crush injuries if they get parts of their body, usually fingers, caught in moving parts of nursery equipment, like prams,” he said.

He added that it is a must to always ensure that furniture/equipment is set up and used according to the manufacturers instructions. More safety recommendations can be found on the Kidsafe Victoria website.

Source: Kidspot.com.au