How to use this book

Familiarise yourself with how to react in an emergency

The Your Baby Family Emergency, Injury Prevention and Safety Guide is designed for use in an emergency. We suggest that you read these pages carefully. If you keep yourself familiar with emergency procedures by reading this booklet regularly, you will remember them. It is essential that you and your child’s caregiver undergo a formal First Aid course and CPR training.

WHEN TO CALL THE EMERGENCY SERVICES

• If your child isn’t breathing, start CPR immediately and get someone to call the emergency services. If you’re alone, take your child with you to the phone – don’t leave her alone. Don’t even consider driving her anywhere; you can’t drive and do CPR at the same time.

• If your child is in great pain, call an ambulance and get your child asses sed as soon

as possible by a doctor.

• If there’s any chance of a spinal or neck injury, don’t move your child. Paramedics are equipped to immobilise and transport your child.

• If you’re in a panic or your child is hysterical, rather call the paramedics to come to you.

• In an emergency, medical personnel often find that moms “just know something is not right”. Don’t be embarrassed to act on your instincts – dial the emergency number or go to the emergency department if you feel that there’s something wrong.

PREVENTION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE

Injuries result in more deaths than all other causes combined for people aged five to 44. That’s a scary fact, especially as many injuries are preventable, yet we pay little attention to keeping our homes, communities and

workplaces safe. Netcare has its own Trauma Injury Prevention programme (NTIP) and applauds the efforts of its allies to reduce accidental injuries.

Children under the age of five are at particular risk for injuries, but all age groups are affected. Statistically, more boys than girls die from injuries and the most common include traffic accidents, drowning, burns, falls and poisoning. Not surprisingly, most injuries in young children happen in or around their homes. You can easily take steps to help prevent this from happening:

• Many serious injuries can be prevented if parents or caregivers supervise children properly and keep their environments acceptably safe.

• Young children are at risk on or near roads. Children should not play on or near the road and should always have someone older with them when they are near to, or crossing a road.

• Wearing a helmet when on a bicycle, motorcycle or quad bike is a non-negotiable, and especially for your children.

• Children must be secure- ly strapped into an age-appropriate child restraint seat when being transported in a vehicle.

• Children can drown in less than two minutes and in a very small amount of water, even in a bathtub. Never leave them alone in or near water.

• Burns can be prevented by keeping children away from fires, cooking stoves, hot liquids and hot foods.

• Falls are a major cause of injury for little ones. Stairs, balconies, roofs, windows, and play and sleeping areas should be made safe, using barriers with safe vertical bars to protect children from falling.

• Medicines, poisons, insec ticides, bleach, acids, liquid fertilizers and fuels (like paraffin), should be stored carefully out of children’s sight and reach.

• Young children like to put things in their mouth. To prevent choking, small objects, such as coins, nuts and buttons, should be kept out of their reach.