Scared to take my baby back to hospital but I’m also scared not to..

[poppyt1998]

It sounds stupid but I’m scared to take my baby back to the hospital.
This is why.

he is 7 months old, he lost his balance while sitting and he hit his soft spot on a wooden footrest at the end of the bed. It was impossible for him to fall off, I had just looked away for a few seconds and then that happened

I took him in and they examined him, they sent us home. 24 hours later he had a firm, raised soft spot. I took him back in and we were there 9 hours, somehow one of the nurses misconstrued me and thought he fell off the bed, I corrected her and I thought nothing of it. Anyway, several doctors, nurses and a paediatrician agreed it was ok to send him home considering he’s normal, no sign of anything.

I got a phone call the next day from social services.. that nurse had reported me. They said they were going to do a wellness check because apparently I had “two different stories” and the social worker thought he had fell off the bed. I corrected her, she went back and phoned the hospital and the hospital looked into it, found out I was linear and truthful with my explanation (🙄obviously) and social services decided to close the case off the basis of “the hospital got it wrong, i was telling the truth and baby was fine and discharged by the hospital so there’s no reason for socials to get involved”

BUT that’s what worries me, right there. he is fine, but his soft spot is still firm and raised and I’m an anxious person and I’d like to take him back and demand a scan so that my mind could be put at ease . My biggest fear is something happening to him.

But my worry is if I take him back to hospital, would social services get back in touch? I’m a massive overthinker and an excessive worrier so I may be overthinking this but I’d love some input.

@Usergjdksndjsn but if you look it up online a firm soft spot is classed as a medical emergency, it’s not normal. All I can think about is fluid being on his brain and the only time he would show symptoms is when it’s too late and he’s got brain damage

i want to relieve my anxiety yes, because I feel like my anxiety is valid . I feel like the drs are missing something. The doctor wasn’t very reassuring, he said “rest assured he’s fine, but I don’t know why his soft spot is like that” well there must be a reason and there’s not one thing that could be wrong that isn’t sinister

They will not take him away from for a minor bump, with a clear history and appropriately seeking help on your part.

SS will not take him away for an accidental injury that they have already opened a case for and then immediately closed. Please try not to worry about this!
If he actually banged his soft spot then it is likely to be swollen and raised from the bang. A raised soft spot with no obvious cause is a medical emergency but this has a likely cause. I totally understand why you are worried about it, so use the open access to ward to get him checked again. X

If you have open access then phone the ward and ask what they suggest

Not to worry you but our HV mentioned in passing that 3 trips to hospital will initiate a wellness review. Personally this wouldn't stop me from taking my DD.

As I said it is standard for social services to investigate hospital admittance for under 5's. They are just doing their job.

As far as I understand a lump that comes "out" is a good sign rather than it going in.

If you are worried take him back. No good sitting on here.

Call NHS 111 for advice- they will advise if you should go back to A and E.

Doctors appointments will be prioritised for a young baby if there is a concern.

As a side note- children are never taken away from safe happy homes. There must be a real risk of harm. Anything stories you have heard otherwise will not have been the full picture.

this. Don’t take it personal. They have to be vigilant. Take your baby back if you’re concerned about him.

I'd rather risk my baby being taken away than risk him dying because I didn't act. Don't mess about with head injuries.

You’re either lying or the adults in the “safe, happy homes” are.

I had a call from social services after my toddler had a suspected dislocated elbow after being swung between my DH and her uncle 🙈
Interestingly didn't have a call when my other toddler fell from standing on the toilet and fully split their lip!
But I do agree that it's standard for accidents in young children to be reported and most of the time it doesn't go further than a phone call.
Your child will NOT be taken away from you if you go back to the hospital.

I know you’re worried that a firm soft spot or bulging fontanelle is a sign of swelling in the brain, but it seems very unlikely if he seems totally fine and is acting normally. And he’s been assessed by the doctors who say he’s fine. It’s probably just a bump on the head which happens to be where the soft spot is, ie where he fell.

Is he showing any signs of changes in behaviour?
Crying more/less.
Sleeping more/less.
Do his eyes look different in any way?
Is he eating normally and interacting with you as he usually does.
Any signs of sickness?
A brain injury would start to show in other ways other than just a external bruise/change.
I would monitor him for changes in behaviour and go through my GP first at this point as you have already seen several medical professionals who seem to have no concerns. A GP should be able to tell if there is an issue that needs looking at. If it’s serious you won’t be waiting for appointments, you’ll be sent to a&e. But with a doctors recommendation to back you up.

4 days post head injury is not a medical emergency.

he’s been assessed, they decided the firm fontanelle was not significant, he’s behaving normally.

if he had brain swelling from the head injury he would not be fine 4 days later.

@BananaSpanner lying about what?

You can't "demand a scan".

@Crumpledstilstkin i didn’t mess around, hence me taking him to the hospital twice, second time they actually admitted us and a registrar, doctor and paediatrician agreed that we should just go home

I think like other posts have said it's important to get checked if you're worried.

The nurse should have informed you they were going to be submitting a referral as you are supposed to ask for consent and would only not do that if you feared informing a parent would put a child in imminent danger and I can't see how that threshold has been met but 🤷

I would take him back. You would never forgive yourself if something was really wrong and you didn't take him.
They have on record that they have called SS and they will have on record it's the same
Injury.

Social services don’t take kids from good parents, the fact that you believe that they do makes me question your judgment tbh

This won’t count though because it’s following up the same injury. It’s not a new weird accident or a suspicious looking injury.

You either call the GP tomorrow and they will Prioritise an appointment or you take him to the walk in and wait till someone sees you. Either option could still result in them telling you to go home again but that's your starting point.

Social services have closed the case. Is there any reason you think the hospital might want to call them again, if this is just a follow up because your not confident he's ok?

As you have open access to the ward, it seems obvious that the first step is to phone them.

SS don’t just take babies from good healthy homes. Whoever told you that is lying or leaving out a lot of the truth.

I think you need to seek help for your health anxiety OP, and I say that kindly. ♥️♥️