When travelling with kids, mums and dads make sure they have packed all the essentials. As parents, you know you have to be prepared for anything, especially if your child is still a baby. But even the most thorough parents can be blindsided by tragedy. After her baby dies on a boat, one mum in the Philippines is taking to Facebook to demand justice.
We stumbled across her post and were truly heartbroken to learn about what happened.
According to Facebook user Kriz Angelic Mi they were on a boat when her four-month-old baby boy Angelo started having severe diarrhoea. He eventually died due to dehydration, despite having medical staff on board.
What exactly happened?
4-Month-Old Baby Dies on a Ship After Severe Bout of Diarrhoea
The mum writes in the post how her baby was cheerful when they boarded the boat. But the next morning, she noticed something was seriously wrong.
“Baby was vomiting after feeding and having loose bowel movements,” writes the mum in the viral post, which has been shared over 109,000 times as of this writing.
So they went to the ship’s clinic so they could check on the baby’s condition.
“We were so disappointed when the doctor told us she’s not a paediatrician and had no knowledge of paediatrics,” she writes in the post.
After her baby dies on a ship from Cebu bound for Manila, one mom is taking to Facebook to seek justice. | Screenshots: Kriz Angelic Mi Facebook page
She urged the doctor to give her baby medication for diarrhoea. But she says they were told to wait until they arrived at the port, even though it was still hours away, at about 7 pm that night.
They returned to their room on board, but their baby’s diarrhoea persisted. The mum tried to soothe the baby to sleep, hoping that he would feel better once he woke up. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t calm her baby.
So her husband decided to carry their baby outside, hoping that walking around would help soothe him. But then he started vomiting and having diarrhoea again.
Their Baby’s Condition Worsened, But No First Aid Was Given, Until His Breathing Started to Weaken…
Image courtesy: Kriz Angelic Mi Facebook page
The worried dad brought their baby to the clinic, where the doctor still allegedly took no action. Despite seeing the baby in need of medical attention, the mum says the doctor didn’t even take his temperature.
This is the mum’s experience as recounted in her Facebook post, and translated from Tagalog.
“It’s saddening that my baby wasn’t given any form of first aid,” laments the mum.
At around 9 am, two hours after his symptoms began, baby Angelo got even more sick.
“His eyes began to droop, so my husband ran to find the doctor, even though we knew he wouldn’t be of much help,” she explains in the post.
While They Were Frantically in Need of the Doctor’s Help, He Was at the Spa
They found the doctor at the spa getting a foot treatment. The spa’s staff were shocked by the baby’s condition. Their baby was pale and despite the efforts of the parents and the spa’s staff to help the baby, the doctor chose to just continue using his phone instead of trying to help.
The spa’s staff tried to help by applying a cool washcloth to the baby, which seemed to soothe him. His fever seemed to go down and he was continuing to breastfeed well. But he still wasn’t sleeping well, says the mum, adding how she was so distraught and scared.
‘I was shaking in fear…’
“I was shaking in fear. My husband was crying because our baby’s eyebags were darkening and he was very, very pale,” says the mum.
At 4 pm, they called a nurse, but by then her baby’s condition had gotten worse. He was extremely dehydrated.
The Doctor Sprang into Action When He Saw the Baby Was Barely Breathing but It Was too Little, too Late
“He called the nurse when our baby was struggling to breathe, but even so, there was no first aid. Our baby was already dehydrated,” she writes.
An hour later, their baby was barely breathing.
“Until my baby was barely breathing, that’s it, the doctor started panicking, and the nurse took charge, telling him what to do,” she said, adding how the doctor didn’t seem to know what to do and the nurse only applied a cool wash cloth on the baby.
‘I want justice for the death of my baby…’
“It’s so painful to think that at 6 pm our baby was no longer breathing, he had lost his life.”
“I want justice for the death of my baby,” writes the mom, adding how if there had been proper first aid on board, then her baby would have arrived in Manila alive.
“It’s so painful to have your child die. It’s so difficult to accept,” she ends the post.
Our deepest sympathies go out to this couple. May they find peace and comfort during this tough time.
*We have reached out to the baby’s parents and will update this post accordingly.
This Tragic Case Highlights the Dangers of Infant Diarrhoea
Though it is unclear what other conditions the baby had, this helps enlighten us about the dangers of infant diarrhoea. It should not be brushed aside, no matter how mild. Remember that your baby’s gastrointestinal system is still developing. Loose stools and dehydration can be dangerous for infants.
The Following Are the Signs and Symptoms of Diarrhoea:
- fever
- loose and frequent stools
- discomfort, pain, and cramping pain
- appetite loss
- exhaustion
- dehydration
- weight loss
What Should Parents Do?
It all depends on how much fluid your baby is losing, which is surely quite a lot if their diarrhoea is severe. But generally, a doctor will advise you to:
- feed your baby the same things but focus on giving more fluids
- give them oral rehydration solution (ORS) to make up for fluids lost
- give babies more breast milk or formula
*It’s important to note that under the age of six months, you should not give plain water to infants. If your baby is over six months, steer clear of sweet drinks like apple juice because they can aggravate symptoms.
When Should You Seek Emergency Medical Attention?
- when your baby is younger than six months old
- if the child is battling severe or persistent diarrhoea
- when your baby is vomiting repeatedly
- when your baby resists drinking liquids
- if your older child reports severe tummy pain or your baby keeps crying and can’t fall asleep
- if your child is not peeing enough, or less than usual
- when their stools have streaks of blood or mucous
Source: St Louis Children’s Hospital
Also READ: 3 important things to do to manage diarrhoea in children
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Philippines