Baby walker injury, disability, and death in a high-income middle eastern country, as reported by siblings

Abstract

BackgroundBaby walkers (BWs) are frequent causes of infant injuries. Little research is reported from the Middle East and few population-based studies anywhere.MethodsUsing multistage random sampling in a city of the United Arab Emirates, 4 of 8 female Arab government high schools and 3 final-year classes each from science and arts tracks were selected. Structured self-administered questionnaires assessed prevalence, frequency, severity, and external causes of BW incidents and injuries, and residential hazards.ResultsResponse was 100 %, 696 students, 55 % (n = 385) Emirati citizens. 87 % (n = 605) of families used/had used BWs. Among 646 injuries were 118 ER (emergency) visits, 42 hospitalizations, 11 disabilities, and 3 deaths. Average risk was 1 incident/user, 1 injury/4 users, 1 ER visit/20, 1 hospitalization/55, 1 disability/200, 1 death/1000. Odds ratios for >1:1 floor levels were 2.3 (95 % confidence interval: 1.2, 4.3) for hospitalization, 16.8 (95 % CI: 2.1, 132.5) disability. Incidents included hitting objects 48 % (n = 1322), overturning 23 % (n = 632), accessing hazardous objects 17 % (n = 473), and falling down stairs 11 % (n = 300); 1 % (n = 32) fell into swimming pools. In 49 % (n = 297/605) of user families, ≥1 child had been injured.ConclusionsDespite causing many injuries including disabilities and fatalities, BWs were used by nearly all families. Governments should consider Canada’s lead in prohibiting importation, sales, and advertising of BWs.

The Reasons and Associated Injuries Related to Baby Walkers Use Among Children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

“…The prevalence of BW users in our study (78%) is similar to previous studies done in a high-income country like the United Arab Emirates and other middle-to-low regional countries that showed a prevalence rate between 54% and 87% [ 19 - 21 ]. Interestingly, most of BW non-users mothers (82.1%) have either a bachelor’s degree or postgraduate, while the percentage decreased in mothers of BW users to 77.5% with a significant p-value of <0.05.…”

“…Although most of the injured children did not have an outcome to their injury and did not require any further intervention, 35% of them had superficial bleeding and 29% were taken to the emergency department. Similar results were noticed among 646 injuries in a study in the United Arab Emirates, emergency visits were 118 of these [ 21 ].…”

Damage associated with the use of baby walkers

“…[30]. Из всех детей (n = 207), использовавших ходунки, 24,9 % получили повреждения, а именно паде- [35].…”

“…Резюмируя все вышеизложенное, можно говорить, что ходунки представляют серьезную опасность для ребенка (травмы, вплоть до смертельного исхода [27,35]; ожоги [36][37][38][39][40]; возможность достичь опасных предметов, таких как нагреватели, пепельницы, электрические соединения, горячие напитки и т. д., в том числе яды [41]).…”

Anneler Neden Bebekleri için Yürüteç kullanıyorlar?

“…Some studies have reported that use of BWs interfered with the expected motor development process such as crawling, standing and walking independently, and may cause developmental delay by preventing the visual experience that is important in this process, some others proposed that these devices had no effect on neuromotor development (1,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). Another concern with BWs use has been the rate of accidents / injuries, which has been shown to occur in 12% to 50% of users (11)(12)(13). The ease of movement that walkers provide for young children facilitates the access to hazardous factors such as heaters, hot drinks and poisons, which increase the risk of accidents.…”