Baby almost dies after two-hour journey in car seat causes seizure

A Scottish mum has issued a stark warning after her newborn was left foaming at the mouth and stopped breathing when a two-hour journey in a car seat caused oxygen deprivation.

Kirsti Clark, 28, and her husband Christopher Clark, 29, spent a day out with their daughters on April 4 – taking three-week-old Harper Clark out of her car seat every time they stopped at a shop.

A long journey home due to rush-hour traffic didn’t worry the parents of two, but when they got in and lay Harper on her play mat the baby’s lips turned blue, her jaw clenched shut and white foam started frothing out of her nose and mouth.

The couple quickly grabbed their three-year-old, Malena, and raced Harper to hospital – a five-minute journey that felt like a lifetime for Kirsti, who was convinced she was going to lose her baby.

Thankfully medics were able to resuscitate Harper, who had suffered a seizure, and a consultant warned the parents that spending more than one hour in a car seat can cause babies’ oxygen levels to plummet.

Now journalist Kirsti is determined to share what happened to her baby girl as she and Christopher had never heard that such a short time in a completely safe car seat could have such dire consequences.

Kirsti, of Falkirk, said, “When we got home it was way past Malena’s bedtime so brought Harper in in her car seat and she stayed in there for 15 minutes as we got Malena into bed.

“My husband got Harper out and put her on his knee but she looked like she couldn’t get comfy so he laid her down on her mat and she was kicking about.

“I told him her lips looked blue and then he pointed out how red her cheeks were. He picked her up and I could tell straight away from his face that something was wrong.

“When she’s feeding sometimes she holds her breath and the health visitor told us to blow in her face so we tried that but it didn’t help then suddenly this white foam started coming out her nose and mouth.

“It was so scary. My husband was holding her and patting her back and I was trying to get her mouth open to make sure she didn’t swallow her tongue but her jaw was clenched shut.

“It wasn’t like a normal seizure, she was arching her back and throwing her head back.

“We both knew we needed to get her straight to hospital so we got Malena into the car and raced straight there.

LISTEN: Find the latest parenting news and views on our Honey Mums podcast. (Post continues.)