Like most of us, new mum Stephanie Thompson, of BraveMumma, spent hours and hours researching different prams. She went through several second-hand heavy prams before deciding to just bite the bullet and invest in a brand new, expensive but high-quality pram.
The fancy pants pram Stephanie, who lives in New South Wales, chose was well over $1,700 but she thought it would be worth every penny.
We researched the best on the market at the time, knowing it needed to be super light and come apart. This was because following the traumatic birth I was left with significant injures that prevented me from lifting anything over 5kgs.
A week later it arrived and I was in LOVE. Everything I imagined and more – much more! It was super light and easy to use. Most of all our little girl loved being inside it. A little too much.”
‘No clue how she got so stuck’
One Saturday morning Stephanie had the pram set up in the lounge room, ready to give it a bit of a clean. Her daughter, Elsie was playing on the floor next to her and the pram.
While Stephanie folded clothes in the lounge room, her daughter lifted herself up to lean on the pram. She managed to get herself stuck in the bit between the bottom of the pram and the footrest.
Even though I was right there and watching, to this day I have no clue how Elsie managed to get herself so stuck. I held out my hand to help her out. She would not budge. As she’s gone to stand up she became more stuck.”
Stephanie called for her husband to come and help her and he was just as horrified at what was unfolding.
By this stage, it was her chest squeezing between the footrest and pram frame. Her little head was sticking out and she was crying.
‘The fancy pants pram was unbreakable’
Stephanie and her husband did all they could to try and help their daughter.
She was now screaming and we were starting to panic. We had no idea what to do. I was yelling at my husband to ‘break the bloody thing open’.
It was impossible. The fancy pants, expensive pram was unbreakable – which is what you pay for right?.”
At a loss of what to do and terrified for their daughter’s safety, they called Fire & Rescue.
We had no clue if she was starting to have trouble breathing or if her organs were being damaged. Within minutes my lounge room was full of Fire & Rescue.”
Fire & Rescue was able to successfully break the pram open using the Jaws of Life – yes the same device used to help people trapped in cars! But the frame was completely damaged. Stephanie’s little girl was checked over and she was okay – a bit shocked up but safe.
Fire & Rescue handed my husband the pieces of the pram and it sunk in – there goes the new fancy pants pram and we have nothing else.”
Stephanie reached out to the baby store where she purchased the pram to explain what had happened. They directed her to the sales rep for the fancy pants pram.
The response to us was along the lines of; the pram is safe and it must have come down to misuse. Shocked and stunned at this response we took it further. While they never admitted any fault and kept saying it was user error, they did also send a replacement on our one-week-old pram.”
Not that Stephanie needed a replacement. She did what we all would have done – binned the damned fancy pants pram. Unless her kids are firmly strapped into their pram, she keeps all prams folded and away from curious little kiddies.
So to help any future parents this is a story of caution. Even if you’re in close proximity, this can happen. Things you have no way of being able to predict.
I would say make sure you’re up to date with CPR and injury training. We booked ourselves for a course the very next weekend. Had we done this prior, the panic may have not been so bad.”
NOTE: We have chosen not to share the make and model of the pram at this time.Â
What to read next
- Check out Stephanie’s new book, The Day my Vagina Broke
- 2021 BEST PRAM ROUNDUP: Prams, Strollers, Joggers and more!
- How Hot Does it Get Inside a Muslin-Covered Pram?
