Mum abused for leaving 5-week-old baby with gran
A MUM has hit back at trolls who accused her of neglect for leaving her five-week-old daughter with her grandparent.
Zoe Wallace has thousands of followers on TikTok, where she posts videos about her life as a busy mum.
But one of her recent videos on the social media forum received more than seven million views – resulting in Zoe being the victim of a torrent of abuse.
In the video, the mum, from Leigh, Wigan, talks about her daughter Parker falling ill with RSV – or respiratory syncytial virus – a viral illness that causes symptoms such as breathing problems and can lead to more severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young babies.
She describes how Parker, who is now four months old, had to be moved from A&E to a high dependency unit where she was put on a machine to do the breathing for her.
The youngster was diagnosed with a severe chest infection but thankfully recovered with the help of antibiotics.
“I hadn’t held my baby for a week but doctors finally let me hold her,” said Zoe on the video. “After a week in hospital, they said I could finally bring my baby home. I feel very lucky that she is still here.”
But instead of sympathising with her, many TikTok users blasted Zoe for letting Parker have her first sleepover at her grandmother’s, who lives just a 10-minute car journey away, the night before she fell ill.
“This is neglect,” said one user. “How could you do that to your newborn.”
Zoe has since posted a video hitting back at the ‘hurtful comments.’
She said: “I do regret mentioning her staying at my mum’s because of the hate I have received, but I don’t regret sharing my daughter’s story, because it could help save another child’s life.”
The 25-year-old, who also has a three-year-old son Dominic with partner David Hunt, 38, described some of the worst abuse she received.
She said: “The main hate I received was along the lines of ‘how could you leave your baby’? It just shocked me how it’s encouraged as a new mum to accept help from people you trust, because it can be overwhelming, but as soon as you do it’s seen as neglectful. I think the video going viral has proven the double standards for mums.”
Zoe, who is on maternity leave from her job at McDonald’s, said she’s been more willing to accept help from her mum with Parker as she was reluctant with Dominic despite suffering from postnatal depression.
“My mum has always been very hands-on and involved,” she said.
“With Dominic I struggled lots and even though I had postnatal depression, I couldn’t see it, and I wouldn’t accept the offers of help.
“This time I just thought if people are willing to help, then I’ll accept it.”