SS call with A&E visit

[user1476694639]

Just wondered whether it was standard to refer any infant A&E visit to SS? Or whether we've been singled out somehow? Worried...

Our 3-week old DS has just learned to roll by wriggling legs and arms about. Unbeknownst of this, DH was supervising him on our double bed while I sent emails on the other side of the room. DH popped out of the room for a moment and DS managed to roll off the folded quilt, and fell onto the bedroom carpet.

He gave a little cry and seemed okay, but we panicked and called 111. They told us to take him to a&E within the next six hours, which we did immediately. We then waited four hours under observation incase he'd had a head injury (we thought he fell nappy-first, but couldn't be 100% as it happened quickly) and the paediatrician checked him over - no sign of injury.

Yesterday DH gets a call from SS on my mobile (his is in for repair) asking to access DS's medical records from the hospital. The SS guy asked various questions about whether DS 'rolled' or 'wriggled' onto the floor, and asked about a mental health condition (autism) neither of us had been diagnosed with.

From reading Mumsnet, I would expect a visit from a HV after an A&E visit, but no SS involvement. I'm baffled. Neither of us have any involvement with SS, we have no mental health issues, and DS wasn't injured.

Obviously, I've spent a long time trying to work out what would alarm someone about us or why SS called. I have opted out of agency-wide data sharing for political/medical confidentiality reasons, so wondered whether SS involvement was routine with a baby A&E visit and the only reason we'd had a call is to get our permission to share DS's data.

DH called 111 on my phone and - if the call handler reported us for some bizarre reason - this would explain why SS called my phone asking for him.

Also, when we got to the hospital, the triage receptionist refused to believe that DS had rolled (as apparently 'newborns can't move' - someone should tell DS that...), threw an accusatory glance at DH and I have to admit to snapping at her. We had been waiting for a long time in a huge queue in which two sets of parents had got into a shouting match over who had got there first. I had been trying to keep DS awake (as we'd been advised to by 111), and was stressed. I didn't like someone who couldn't even see DS accusing us of abuse for no real reason. I should mention that neither the hospital paediatrician, paediatric nurse or community midwife (who came around to our house later to look at my stitches) seemed remotely concerned by the incident. However, I'm concerned the receptionist decided we'd abused DS and reported us.

My sons were quite active early on too! I think social services call routinely after A&E visits concerning accidents and young children.

OP don't worry it's probably just a routine check by SS because it is rather unusual. Saying that some babies are very strong even as newborns. My mum said that the day after he was born, my brother could lift his head while on his stomach and prop himself up on his elbows. It was so unusual that the nurses used to come into her room and watch him doing it. This was 40 years ago. I would imagine that he would have been moving around at the 3 week mark

I had a check from SS after DS1 rolled off the bed at 5 months old. I was panicking and got really upset but they assured me it was just routine and wanted to check he was ok and that I was coping. One visit and they were satisfied all was well and didn't come back.

EVERY child that walks through A&E, SS are informed each and every time, regardless of injury & whether believable or not.

Some babies are wrigglers. Nurses told me off on the neonatal ward for putting newborn ds (prem, underweight, hypermobile) with his head against the top of the bed: in the end I let them watch how I put him at the bottom and how he wriggled his way up.

SS call is just routine.

A similar accident happened with my dd at a similar age. She was a wriggler, although never actually actively rolled over until 7 months. Gravity took hold.

My dd was in a&e twice by 6 month and I never received a call from ss or my hv. I'm actually quite concerned about that. Whilst they were both complete accidents objectively if I was a nurse I'd of been concerned.

corythatwas my second ds did this-I've never heard of anyone else's that did it. Ds could do it 10 times a night. Did your ds grunt in his sleep too?

Not particularly as far as I remember, DoIt

Where I live it's standard practice for any baby under a year that has any injury to be referred to the hospital and checked by SS according to the last HV that came out. Seems a bit excessive when it's common for 9 month olds to pull themselves up and topple.

I can see why they'd check with a 3 week old, it's not normal for them to roll, and personally I'm glad they do - obviously a mistake for you guys, but in other cases there have been some horrific things slip through with devastating consequences. Too many sad news stories :(

DS is a strong baby, lifted his head straight away, but no where near rolling at 3 months. Sounds like you've got an athlete in the making!

I had a phone call from SS after 9m DS fell down the stairs, he climbed over the top of the baby gate
They were happy with my explanation and didn't come for a visit, but when the hv came to see he was ok after he'd been discharged she told me off for removing the gate I just ignored her.

My son, at three weeks, shocked my DH and me, as well as the photographer we'd hired to do a few newborn shots, when he simply rolled himself off one of the photo props and fell (thankfully the drop was only a few inches) on his head! Much crying and an itty-bitty bump resulted, and the photographer apologized about a hundred times, saying she'd never seen one roll over so little!

DH and I talked a lot about how we were actually quite glad it happened when it did. If we didn't know he was capable of that, we might have done very similar to what your husband did with putting him on the bed and assuming he wasn't yet mobile.

Incidentally, my son (now 9 months old) hasn't yet stopped surprising people with his motor skills! You may be in for an early crawler/cruiser/walker, as well.

Our HV visitor mentioned that any injury before 4 months is automatically referred to ss

Nobody ever believes me but DS rolled from his front to his back at 5 days old. I put him down on the rug on a blanket, went into the kitchen to put the kettle on, he started screaming blue murder and had flipped himself onto his back and off the blanket. He had head control from a few weeks old too.

It's an automatic referral for a baby that young. Don't worry about it, just be honest with the social worker and they'll see there's nothing to worry about.

Can I just point out that autism is not 'a mental health problem' as stated in the op.

I'm a CP social worker. Not every admission is automatically referred to Children's Services. Admissions with a safeguarding query are.

This is why I avoid taking my girls to the GP or A&E unless their arm has been chopped off. Bloody overzealous ridiculous calls to SS for nothing with the potential to destroy people's lives. My eldest could roll from birth, not through skill but because she was a frank breech and grew with her legs straight up together in front of her face and she'd automatically try to put her legs back in that position whenever I laid her down which would consequently make her roll sideways. She actually did it on her first nappy change in the recovery room and the midwife was shocked and we always had to keep an eye on her from day 1 because of it. I think people need to focus on the SS question rather than questioning whether the baby really can roll.

My second baby rolled off the bed at about 3 weeks. It was totally unexpected. She was propped up slightly against the pillow so didn't roll from flat. I had literally put her down to take my jumper off and in that split second, she rolled, bumped onto the side table and then the floor. Unusual, yes, but not unheard of - our local GP practice and health visitors are fastidious about drumming it into you that even very small babies can move. I just wish I'd listened to them..

My youngest was only 6lb 4oz but long. She was born on the due date. She was holding her head up almost from birth and was commando crawling and following me around the room at 16 weeks. So it's not impossible.

My 2nd child could roll onto his side and back again from about four weeks I think and could roll over completely on to his tummy from about 6. It does happen. I can remember getting an almighty bollocking from a midwife for putting my pfb on the bed whilst on the ward and turning my back on her. She didn't roll like my son,. I can remember leaving him on his mat at about 8 or 9 weeks and he could roll over and over. Some babies just have that instinct I think.

We have a roller. At 4 weeks she used to roll onto her side in her cot spent many a sleepless night rolling her back onto her back! She then sat up at 12 weeks and bloody crawled at 5 months! At her first birthday she was walking (wobbling like a drunk) after taking her first steps a week earlier! She clearly didn't get the memo on being inactive for a bit so I could rest

I had a strong baby like this too. At 5 now she is quite lean and muscly. By day 2 she held her head up. Within a couple of weeks I was putting her to sleep feet to foot andI would wake and she had moved the full length of a cot. So it does happen.

Anecdotally, I have a theory that in her case her neck and torso muscles became so strong because she had severe reflux so she was trying to get relief from the acid by lengthening her body. But nobody ever beleives me abiut that either.

Try not to worry.

Ds 1 was very muscular, he would pull himself up into a half sit up and grab his own toes from a few weeks old. He'd then roll from that position! He crawled & walked early too, youve just got to go with the flow, he was unhappy if he couldn't wriggle & roll!

Oh and be prepared for people not believing you in the future about loads of other things too! With a strong muscular baby cot sides & stair gates present no problem, they just flip over them! Never hurt himself though...careful flipping

My son was 8lb 8oz, a week overdue and similarly active. He managed to kick himself off the sofa at a few weeks old. Being a medical family, we took it in our stride, and didn't feel the need to go to A+E. He subsequently tipped his 5 day old sister out of her Moses basket (when he was 11 months old) and I fell over carrying his younger brother at a few months old and pitched him against the bannisters, so all three of mine have ended up being dropped in some way. Youngest is now 16, and all are thriving. I think you have ended up in the system, for perfectly valid reasons, but it doesn't sound like anything to be concerned about. Goodness knows what SS would have made of me I had ever come to their attention!