Elodie Doucin is a young mother of 4 children. She has been a midwife for about fifteen years and two years ago, the mother of the family experienced a real tragedy: her son Noah drowned after falling into a pool of water present at his neighbour’s. In order to warn about the danger of unfenced pools, she testifies.
“We lost our little boy Noah, at the end of April 2020, he was 2 and a half years old. It was at the end of the very first confinement. During this period, like many parents, we had a slightly different organization. So the days when I worked, my husband took care of the children. That day I was working, I was in the maternity ward, my husband was out with the kids and our little boy managed to escape.
He escaped my husband’s supervision for a few minutes, he managed to open the gate of our house and he ventured into a neighbour’s garden where there were ponds. We absolutely did not know the existence of these basins, they are artisanal and absolutely not protected. We did not know that this danger was there so close to home. Noah fell in the water and drowned.”
“It’s a real tsunami”
“It took my husband about ten minutes to realize that Noah was no longer with his brother and sister. He then started looking for him everywhere in the house and in the garden, then after a quarter of an hour, he warned the gendarmerie who were able to do a little more extensive research around the house. And it is finally thanks to the testimony of another neighbor, living opposite, that they were able to find him about an hour after his disappearance. Noah was taken to the pediatric emergency room and it was there that he was pronounced dead.
When I was informed of Noah’s death, I was at work and the gendarmes informed my manager. I understood absolutely nothing of what I was told at that time. It was a real tsunami. For me, it was not possible, you cannot lose your child, in any way. I was in complete denial, I no longer knew where I was, what day it was, I was like being sucked into a kind of black hole. I told myself that it was not possible, that we were going to bring him home.
A tragedy that does not happen to others
“If I had to send a message to the parents of young children, like older ones, it would be to always remain vigilant. You should never tell yourself that it only happens to others. We hear these unfortunate news stories on TV every year and indeed, it only takes a very short moment for a tragedy to happen. And keep in mind that thewe are not perfect as a parent and that to err is human.”
In effect, every year, many similar dramas happen in France. A few weeks ago, a little boy aged just 3 died after drowning in the family pool which was only filled with 23 centimeters of water. A height which, for many, may seem small and harmless and yet which cost the life of this young child.
Good reflexes to have
To prevent drowning, gestures are to be known. If you are at a bathing site, parents must above all not take their eyes off their children, which implies not being caught up in their mobile phone or looking away. If you are in a group, the ideal is to designate a single adult, who knows how to swim, responsible for supervising the youngest and for turning.
If the child wants to go swimming or play near the water, do not hesitate to accompany him. At home, if you have a swimming pool, the safety barrier is essential. Even in the presence of an artificial pond, the risk may be present.
Since May 2021, Pauline has joined the Aufeminin team. A journalism student, Pauline is currently on a work-study program and writes for the Aufeminin and Parole de Mamans websites. Curious and passionate, she…