Baby died after night nanny gave Piriton

[examworries2026]

Just read this story and really shocked.

Is it normal practice for night nannies to give 8 week old babies antihistamines to sedate them? Appalling.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czd77edm8g1o

Not for children. My nephew was prescribed this aged 4 and the pharmacist wanted to speak to his consultant before actually giving it to him because it causes respiratory depression in young children. He didnt want to give it to him because it is so dangerous. He was prescribed it for its sedative effects along with melatonin. My sister ended up just using the melatonin.

Phenergan is indicated for children age two & up. It is a very safe drug that has been used in kids for decades.

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/drugs/promethazine-hydrochloride/

It is so concerning how many parents have children without wanting to parent. Part of the attachment process is soothing and connecting and meeting your child’s needs, it’s not a 9-5 job. The night nanny business is something I’m sceptical about anyway because you can’t outsource the attachment process and I say this as a parent of children who woke so frequently for a very long time!, but throwing in sedation is horrific. I imagine no one will be held accountable because it will be hard to establish who administered it?

You say that but I don’t think some people understand what it is like if you have a baby with severe reflux who wakes up every hour for an entire year. That was my experience for 2 babies. The sleep deprivation was torture and it got to the point where my husband and I started hallucinating. We couldn’t afford a night nanny and my mum would every few weeks come and take them into the spare room to have them for a night so we could get some rest. If we could have afforded it we would have got a night baby just temporarily just to help as it was very very difficult particularly as I had to be a work after 5 months mat leave.

34 years ago the Health Visitor recommended I give my ( non sleeping) 1 yr old Phenergan for a few nights to give us all a break. I confess I used it for a couple of nights, it worked so well on him that it scared me and I never used it again. I think it was pretty standard advice at one time, and gripe water in it's original form. My gran told me to rub whisky on a teething babys gums too. Thankfully things have changed, generations of us must have spent babyhood half drunk or sedated.

How has she been allowed to get away with that?
Poor parents.

Someone mentioned SIDS upthread as being an alternative cause of death, but isn't one of the theories of why SIDS occurs that the child is unable to rowse themselves? From what I recall from some articles I read, the child isn't getting adequate oxygen, but rather than repositioning themselves they end up gradually running out of oxygen.

In which case administering a sedative could be contributive.

I remember reading that deep sleep for a very young baby should actually be discouraged and that them waking every few hours was normal and protective.

Really sad that these parents were let down so badly by someone who presented themselves as trustworthy (assuming it was the nanny who administered it). I think people should reserve their judgement on why they outsourced the night care - we don't know what the mother was going through postpartum, what sort of support she had, or how well the baby was sleeping during the day and night. If the mother was massively sleep deprived and the father unreliable/often working away then that could lead to not being able to care for the child safely, so this may have been the most appropriate choice at the time.

See I do get this - my kids woke every 1-2 hours for months on end and then every 3-4 hour for another year or so. I was breastfeeding so my husband couldn’t really settle them… and while I remembered Googling could I die from sleep deprivation, I didn’t consider a night nanny from attachment perspective. I’m not saying you would be wrong to do so if it was best for your family but it’s not a solution with no down sides.

No medication unless doctor prescription should be given to under 3 months I always thought .
I had friends who visited Ireland and stocked up on something called Dozol . Regularly given to put babies to sleep . It must have contained some kind of antihistamine. She was very disappointed when it was removed from the market .
I never needed to give many meds to my kids which was just as well as Calpol made my DS jittery the first time I did .

Got the “give Piriton” advice from a GP in the 90s, although it was for a slightly older child. Wild that stuff like that sticks. Can believe anyone would use it for such a small baby.

I used Phenergan (sic?)when I had trouble getting to sleep. Half a tablet, slept for hours and drowsy the next day.

Yes I remember Phenergan - was definitely used for young children who were poor sleepers back in the 90s. Lots of talk about its ‘positive’ effects at mother and toddler groups at the time.

I am sympathetic, really i am.

I had 3DDs, 2 within a year apart and my second had reflux - main reason i had my 3rd 6 years later 😂

So i suppose i think its wild when a baby is so young, maybe 6 months onwards but again for me i just think its too much of a stretch to have someone in my home at night caring for my tiny baby.

I do see your point though.

My son had bad chickenpox at 5 months old. I dropped into the gp surgery to see if there was anything I could give him. While there, one of the gps was in reception and started to do a calculation of how much Piriton he could have based on weight.

nobody, except a doctor, should have “prescribed” piriton for a baby of that age and whoever gave it to them, without a clinical need was negligent at best!

My first was born in 2002 and it was completely normal among a lot of parents I knew then to give Medised routinely to get a good night's sleep. DD was a really easy baby so I never felt the need to use it, but when one of my younger DC turned out to be an appalling sleeper into toddlerhood I looked into it only to find it had been withdrawn by then.

But that aside, a nanny should never give medication without it being at the express request of the parents. And it sounds like there was some lack of transparency about who had given what - the nanny doesn't seem to have actually admitted giving it? She shouldn't be allowed to work as a nanny again IMO but I don't know how she could be stopped in the absence of criminal charges being brought.

My generation will remember piriton as a hayfever treatment that famously knocked you out. You were strongly advised not to drive on it, and if you were prescribed it (because it was prescription only) you could inform the examiners if you were taking exams during the summer.

Enhanced DBSes can include cautions and concerns at the police force’s discretion (depending on the circs).

It is licensed for short term use for sedation. The pharmacist felt it was too dangerous to give without some limitations and a review with his consultant on the long term care plan. It isn't safe for people to use any time a young child can't or won't sleep.

I can't imagine giving birth and handing over night wakings to a stranger. Let alone one you were paying. If you can't be bothered to care for your own baby at night, don't have one.

I do remember giving small dds (not babies) some sort of children’s antihistamine to help them sleep on long night flights (which were necessary when we were living/working overseas.).
Other mothers in that situation did the same.

I can’t possibly remember what the bottle instructions said, but I’d put money on them specifying not for under 12 months, at least.

You still can buy it but it's only for children over 10.

I did the same , not under 1 though.

There's not enough evidence to say the nanny was responsible is there,it could've been the parents ?

Like much else that's dumped in AIBU then.

why would you share this ! Feel so teary now !

Just speaking to my mum about the use of such medications. She said "you do have to watch the baby and poke it sometime cos they breathe heavy on it" 🫣