‘Triggering’ video shows traumatic moment baby chokes on his dummy – as first aider shares vital advice

A ‘TRIGGERING’ video shows the horrifying moment a baby chokes on his dummy while lying in his cot, before managing to spit it out.

Ex-paramedic Nikki Jurcutz shared the “traumatic” video to make parents aware about dummy safety and stop the terrifying accident from happening to other tots.

2

The baby shown in the video is safe following the incident and his mum reached out to Nikki after catching the heart-stopping moment on video.

The first aider behind Tiny Hearts Education issued a “trigger warning” at the start of the clip, saying she’d hesitated in sharing it because it was so shocking to watch.

“I had never considered that [choking on a dummy] was even a possibility before,” she wrote in an accompanying post.

“I was holding my breath watching this video sent in by this little ones mum.

“It’s so hard to watch even though he is OK.”

Nikki decided to share the video after it prompted her to have discussions with her husband about how to ensure the safety of their own baby while using a dummy.

“It triggered us to be more aware, so I’m sharing in the hope it does the same for you,” she explained.

The clip shows a baby in his crib struggling to breathe after a dummy got stuck in his mouth.

The baby makes coughing and choking sounds and is sick before – after what seems like an agonising amount of time – he manages to spit out the dummy and starts crying.

Nikki urged parents to look into dummy safety and make sure dummy shields are large enough to prevent them from fitting entirely into their baby’s mouth.

Other safety measures include regularly checking a dummy for holes that could gather bacteria and only buying dummies that have openings in the shield that allow air to pass through.

“I spent today looking into dummy safety and the potential safety concerns they present. There are safety requirements dummies must meet,” the ex-paramedic explained.

“This baby is only seven months and the dummy fitted inside his mouth.”

She thanked the tot’s mum who wanted Tiny Hearts to share the clip to prevent the same thing from happening to others.

‘Distressing to watch’

Despite Nikki’s warnings, many parents viewing the clip reacted in horror.

“Can there be a warning in this video?! This is traumatic and is very triggering!” one person commented.

Others stated that they’d considered unfollowing the page after watching the confronting video.

One viewer questioned why the baby’s parents didn’t come to help him sooner.

But others rushed to defend them and thanked Nikki for raising awareness about dummy safety.

“Do NOT blame the parents!” one mum wrote.

“I applaud them for stepping up to warn other parents of this device, so it won’t happen again to another child.

“None of us are perfect. We all do our best when it comes to raising our kids. I’m relieved the outcome was what it was and the child is OK.”

Another said: “Breaks my heart to see this baby choke for so long.

“There’s so much to talk about when it comes to keeping our children safe. Thanks for raising awareness.”

A number of parents raised the subject of sleeping in the same room as their baby in the comments.

“This is distressing to watch,” one said. “One of the reasons I’d rather co-sleep is to be nearer to my baby.”

Other discussed similar incidents where dummies got stuck in their babies’ mouths.

“I think it’s so important to have the right size pacifier because I think the risk of this happening is higher when the pacifier is too small for the baby,” a mum said.

“My son’s pacifier got stuck in his mouth sideways while in the stroller and I had to pull it out.

“He was fine but we immediately took it away and got him a bigger one, even though he hated it for awhile.”

Another parent chimed in: “Correct sized dummies for their age and regularly checking the silicone portion for damage is really key.

“If it’s big enough to not be able to fit into their mouth, has a ring attached, adequate sized holes and is in great condition, it shouldn’t be a huge concern.”

Is my baby’s dummy safe?

As she’s based in Australia, Nikki outlined Australian design and construction requirements for dummies in a blog post, which include:

• All dummy components not having sharp edges that could hurt babies.
• Shields being a minimum size to prevent it from fitting entirely into the baby’s mouth.
• Shields having two or more ventilation holes of a particular size to allow the baby to breathe if the dummy becomes lodged in the mouth.
• The teat being smooth and preventing fluid from entering in or filling the teat, as bacteria can grow and cause infection.
• The dummy’s ring or handle not detaching from the shield or coming apart to avoid being a choking hazard.
• Parents being easily able to grip the ring or handle to remove the dummy if it becomes lodged in the baby’s mouth.

For the UK, the NHS and National Childbirth Trust (NCT) say it’s generally safe to give your baby a dummy once breastfeeding is well established.

This will usually be when your baby is around a month old.

As babies have a powerful sucking instinct, dummies may help satisfy that outside of breastfeeding.

Some evidence has shown they can even reduce the risk of cot death – which is when a baby dies for no apparent reason.

The NCT says that while experts don’t specifically recommend using dummies to protect babies from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the reduced risk might be down to dummies preventing babies from rolling on their front.

But dummies can still pose a chocking hazard.

This is because dummies are susceptible to wear and tear and if parts become loose or break, it could become a hazardous to your child.