Childbirth is an extraordinarily momentous occasion for any family.
After waiting months and months to meet their child, the moment finally arrives to welcome their newest family member into the world and the parents can to see their baby for the very first time.
Although delivery can have the potential of being more ritualistic than emotionally moving for doctors, we would still hope they would treat every single baby as the unique and precious gift they are.
While not made of glass, newborn babies require much attention to how they are handled in order to avoid causing serious injury.
Today's Parent reported that newborn babies have very low muscle tone, particularly in their neck. This is why it's so important that babies are handled with care and always have their heads supported to prevent any head or brain injuries.
After all, these are the people who are responsible for helping to bring the baby into this world. They're the first ones who touch the baby, and the one who help them out of the birth canal (or, during a C-Section, out of the uterus).
They're the first ones to personally hand them to their mother. New mothers are often exhausted and worried, and understandably so — labor can be a scary process, and most new moms just want to make sure their baby is okay.
According to ABC 15, a Valley couple have made public a homemade video of their twin daughters' delivery in which one premature girl is seen being dropped out of the hands of a hospital employee.
In the video shared on Facebook, the baby falls out of the employee's hands and lands on a table before a nurse picks her up again.
"Like, I had to stop recording."
Monique said she felt like her daughter had been treated "like a sack of potatoes" rather than as a fragile preemie.
Derrick told ABC 15 he confronted the doctor who he claims was holding his daughter, Morgan, at the time of her fall.
"He had a nonchalant look on his face. Then I showed him the video, and he had nothing to say after that."
Derek also said that the doctor initially told him it was an "almost fall" until he showed him the video.
She and Derrick hope Morgan will grow up to be a happy and healthy person, but wish the hospital would learn from this incident and take better care in handling newborns.
She said doctors are especially prone to accidents while looking to ensure a preemie is breathing normally and responding like any other infant.
While the fall is indeed shocking for viewers of the video, she said the incident was relatively minor.
Although Morgan is still small, her parents have said she is doing fine otherwise. Their only concern is her tendency to shake.
"I would like to know if this was due to her having a low birth weight or if it was due to her being dropped on her head," Monique said.
h/t: ABC 15
