Accused of harming my baby while doctors investigate high calcium levels

[Smummy04]

Took my 4 week old to the doctors to get his milk as he has a milk allergy but also mentioned that he had these 3 lesion marks on his belly that appeared from no where Told me not to worry. But I did as they looked like bruises and I knew I had done anything so took him straight to a&e where I was accused of child abuse and social services were called on me he’s now been in hospital a week had ct scan, full body xray and ultrasound on his stomach which has all come back normal but I was originally told he had low vitamin d but it’s only come out now a week later he’s got high calcium levels in his blood. I’m still being accused of harming my child when I know I havnt I’ve had my other 2 kids put into my mums care.

my little boy has had issues since birth always in pain always crying unless asleep hard to settle and always been super constipated until having laxatives

the doctors won’t look into anything as they keep blaming me it wasn’t until last night were I begged a doctor and he compared his blood tests and stated he’s had high calcium for a week and they because of this they was going to preform another blood test on him to see if the levels were still high.

Has he, by any chance, had vitamin D drops prescribed? I read this on BBC news yesterday…

Are the marks reddish? Was your baby post term/difficult delivery? Ask docs to consider subcutaneous fat necrosis.

what was baby's birth like?
any family history of similar symptoms?

do you have legal representation?

Baby’s birth was quick his heart rate kept dropping I had to lay on my left side during the whole of labour otherwise it would have been a c section. He had the cord wrapped around his neck twice. When born it took a few mins before he had his breath

Easy birth apart from had to lay on my left side the whole time as heart rate kept dropping to 80 he had the cord wrapped around his neck and took several minutes before his first breath. What is that

Why did your other children go into your mother’s care, was it due to this or before? Your baby is still in hospital?

Why are 2 of your children in your mum’s care? Because you’re at the hospital with the baby?

I’ll attach a photo

It was due to this. They said because the hospital suspecte that I’ve done it they called social services and they are just safeguarding my children until further notice. I can still go and see my kids I just have to be supervised

I can only go and visit my baby in the hospital with someone who has been approved for supervising me I’m not allowed to stay with him overnight at the hospital. They put them in my mums care as the hospital phoned social services on me and they are just safeguarding the kids until further notice. I can still see them I just have to be supervised

I am so upset for you. This happened to my sister (with her first). It was awful and terrible. It took about two weeks to be resolved. Her advice would be that you just have to follow all the channels and processes and keep as calm as possible (and encourage those around you to do the same - my Dad was a nightmare and really didn’t help give the impression that we were a family who wouldn’t hurt a child). She tried also to keep in mind that the HV was doing her job in raising her concerns. They never found out what the mark were either. And she’d raised them with the HV too! All strength.

How awful for you, and for your baby being left overnight. Have you got legal advice/representation? I think I’d be contacting someone legal with a view to my baby’s right to be comforted by me in the night.

The news story at the top came to my mind too.

Legal advice really isn’t going to massively help OP here. The threshold for concern is very low in non-mobile babies, essentially any bruising in a non-mobile infant should trigger a safeguarding response because a baby that cannot move simply isn’t capable of bruising themselves and even while investigating professionals are expected to be over cautious about it- especially when bruising is somewhere more unusual like tummy. This is the NICE guidance which is being followed here, their response would be that until they are sure OP is not the cause then the risk she might be outweighs benefit of comforting a baby they believe she may be abusing during the night.

Did your sisters baby have high calcium levels too

He’s not no the only thing he has had was the vitamin k injection when he was born

OP, please ask the hospital specifically about something called Subcutaneous Fat Necrosis of the Newborn

It's rare, it's caused by a traumatic birth, it's a condition where fat cells break down and look like dark purple bruises and it releases potentially dangerous levels of calcium which babies then need to be monitored for.

Its not something most doctors will recognise - DD was eventually diagnosed with it by dermatology after several days in hospital.

They do look like bruises, @Smummy04, and as pp have said, the situation will be looked into very carefully in such a small baby.

This is what one of DDs lesions looked like

I think the only reason we didn't end up where you are OP is they were literally appearing in front of the medical staff as they were examining her.

I agree it understandable that bruising on a non mobile baby warrants an investigation. But your average stressed postpartum mum has no idea about their rights and if sw are following procedures correctly.

Are you living with the baby's father?

She did not.

Okay thankyou I will ask

I am yes and we have both been accused of hurting our child when we both havnt and the baby is always with me as he deals with our toddlers

OP this happened to me after I reported bruising to the LADO. It had to be from his nursery.

Next minute I know, social worker, hospital admission. Full body X rays etc, really really distressing. Ultimately the nursery admitted picking him up incorrectly after investigation.

The hospital admission was one of the darkest times in my life. The staff treated me like a child abuser. Wasn't allowed a room (he was 8 months old) so on a ward with distressed teenagers. Finally one consultant came and spoke to me like an actual human and recognised that I had been the one to flag the concerns in the first place.

I think you have to just trust the process, better this than a baby who is being abused being harmed.

Hi OP,

Previous paediatric nurse here who worked on an infant’s ward (newborn up to 2 years old) so I have lots of experience of working in cases where abuse is suspected and parents are not allowed to be with their babies/young infants so I understand how difficult it is.

Do you have any other family member who could stay with your baby overnight? Grandparent? Siblings etc? I know social services would have to give them clearance but it might make you feel more reassured to know they had someone with them?

If not, if it helps at all, when we had babies that weren’t allowed to have a parent with them overnight (or another relative) they were absolutely spoilt rotten by all the staff, we kept them with us most of the night behind the nurses station so they always had eyes on them and someone was always there to cuddle them when needed and they were responded to straight away whenever they showed signs of stirring or needing comfort etc, we gave them the highest levels of care and attention you could imagine.

I’m really sorry you are going through this and I hope they find out what is going on as soon as possible.