Belinda Joyce
The phenomenon known as forgotten baby syndrome or fatal distraction, occurs when a parent unknowingly leaves their child in the car, usually because of a short-term memory overload, change in usual routine or extreme exhaustion. Every year we hear the tragic news about the death of a baby who has been forgotten in their car and as a result suffered heat stroke or hyperthermia.
Recently we heard about baby twins being left in their car in the US for over 8 hours by their parent who had just dropped their older children to school and were meant to be taking the twins to childcare, but they forgot they were in the car. This parent is by all accounts a loving parent and they are as you can imagine distraught. This was a terrible accident that could happen to any parent.
Forgotten baby syndrome is hard to comprehend; however, this is not the first time this has occurred, and it won’t be the last. There have been a small number of deaths over the last few years in Australia.
Many babies get accidentally left in cars for short periods of time and then the parents remember or perhaps the car has locked with the keys inside and an emergency service must unlock the car to free the baby. We don’t have any figures on the number of babies and children this happens with. Forgotten baby syndrome is usually for longer time periods which is what brings with it the fatal consequences.
How do loving parents forget their baby?
When the short-term memory system is compromised ‘autopilot’ kicks in. Can you remember driving a well-known route to work and not remembering any of the trip, you can’t even remember making any decisions about which way to turn, you were on autopilot and your brain remembered it all from the many other times. If you also had a distraction, extreme exhaustion or a change in routine, such as dropping a child off that you don’t usually do, the chance of your short-term memory remembering things like this change is less likely and this increases the risk of forgotten baby syndrome. In this case your brain may make a false memory of what has happened based on a past memory. In many cases the parent has thought that their baby was safe at childcare when in fact they had been left in the car for many hours.
Extreme exhaustion is common for parents of babies and young children and changes in routine are inevitable, so we need strategies to help us avoid this devastating occurrence.
Risk factors for forgotten baby syndrome:
- Change in usual routine.
- High stress.
- Extreme exhaustion.
- Baby or child sleeping in car and therefore silent.
Strategies to avoid forgotten baby syndrome:
- Always check the back seat before leaving the car ‘Look Before You Lock’(US Campaign)
- Put your bag, phone or wallet on the back seat.
- Put your baby or child’s bag next to you on the passenger seat.
- Ask their carer or childcare centre staff to call you if your baby does not attend at the usual time.
- For rear-facing car seats, install a mirror (your baby will love this too).
- Make it a habit to always open the back door and check inside before leaving the car.
- Create a reminder on your phone.
- Teach other carers these same strategies to keep your baby safe.
- Some new technology is emerging with car seat sensor systems and travel apps.
- Try to come up with some strategies of your own.
Think about who you could ask for help and support when you get exhausted, such as friends and family. Know that you are more at risk when changing from the normal routine and tired or stressed.
Just knowing that this can happen anyone, even the most loving parents is the key to stopping it from happening to you and your precious baby.
Visit BelindaJoyce.com for more information.
You may also like to read:
