Witnessing your child in pain or distress is something most parents pray never to endure in their lifetime.
But one brave mother has opened up on the horrifying moment she discovered her baby son choking on his dummy.
Warning: upsetting content
The mother who found her son gasping for air in the middle of the night earlier this year later made the decision to share footage of the incident - recorded on the baby monitor - with the emergency services.
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The footage has since been used by former paramedic Nikki Jurcutz to serve as a warning to parents about the dangers of allowing their baby to sleep with their dummy.
Sharing the harrowing clip to TikTok and Instagram, Nikki admitted she'd 'never considered' the possibility of a child choking on a pacifier, with most dummies having a handle to prevent such incidents.
Though in this scenario the dummy did have the preventative handle, Nikki admitted: "I was holding my breath watching this video sent in by this little one’s mum. It’s so hard to watch even though he is OK."
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The tot can be seen struggling to spit out his dummy, which had gotten lodged in his throat.
"I wasn’t going to share it," Nikki told her social media followers. "But then I showed my husband and we began talking about what we would do to ensure our baby, who has a dummy, is safe."
She went on: "It triggered me and my husband to be more aware, so I’m sharing in the hope it does the same for you."
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In the video, the helpless seven-month-old baby can be seen flailing his arms and legs around in his cot, prior to vomiting up clear liquid next to his head.
Luckily, the youngster managed to miraculously cough up his dummy, before crying out for help.
"I’m so glad this mum shared it with me and allowed me to share it with you because it has put the conversation about dummy safety at the front of a lot of our minds," Nikki said of the clip.
This incident also spurred her to fully research dummy safety and the potential risks that pacifiers can present.
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"There are safety requirements dummies must meet," she told viewers. "I’ve gone through all of the ones we have after seeing this to ensure our baby is safe."
All dummies sold in Nikki's home-country of Australia must meet a set of mandatory safety requirements, according Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
"These regulations have been put in place to minimise the risk of a baby choking on one," the explains.
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The shield of all dummies sold Down Under must have two or more ventilation holes of a particular size to allow the baby to breathe if the dummy gets lodged in their mouth.
The shield itself must also be a minimum size to avoid it fitting entirely into the baby's mouth.
The dummy must also have a secure ring or handle attached to avoid being a choking hazard, and must be free from sharp edges that could hurt babies.
The teat must also be smooth, and must prevent fluid from entering in or filling it, therefore preventing bacteria from getting in and causing infection.
And lastly, the ring or handle must be gripped easily to enable an adult carer to remove the dummy if it becomes lodged in the baby’s mouth.
Topics: Parenting, Science, Health, Social media
Rhianna Benson