THE FORENSIC SCIENCE - DANGER-BABYS BATH - Brian D.Blackbourne, M.D.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by dhado

Dangerous bathtub hazards can lead to infant drowning and fatal scalds despite regular daily routines. A review of seventeen children aged 2 or younger who died during bathing in Dade County, Florida (1956–1971) shows frequent unattended conditions in full-sized bathtubs, including time gaps ranging from minutes to several. The text explains drowning mechanisms involving water depth, drain closure, and tap control, and it details scald deaths caused by hot-water activation while infants remain in the tub or are left with other children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

WHY DID THE INFANT DROWN?

Bathing-related drowning circumstances

WHY WAS THE INFANT SCALDED?

Hot-water activation leading to fatal burns

THE QUESTION

When can a child be left unattended in a bathtub?

i “ THE FORENSIC SCIENCE DANGER-BABYS BATH -Brian D.Blackbourne,M.D. An infant spends most of his day in a regular routinewhich includes sleeping,eating,playing in a crib orplaypen and the daily bath.Some hidden hazards indefective cribs which have strangled or suffocatedinfants have been previously described.The infant'sbath is another source of danger.During the fifteenyears,1956-1971,in Dade County,Florida,seventeeninfants,two years of age or younger,have died in theirbath.Fourteen infants drowned and three were scaldedto death in hot water. The seventeen infants ranged in age from 8 to 25months,averaging 14 months.Seven were under oneyear of age.The sex ratio was essentially equal,ninewere male,eight were female.Twelve infants were white,five black.In every case,the infant was left unattendedin a full sized bathtub.The child was in the mother'scare in nine of the seventeen cases.The mother's age wasrecorded in six cases and ranged from 19 to 33 years.Three of the infants were in the care of older sisterswhose ages were 8,9and 15 years.A grandmother,a 16year old aunt,an 11 year old babysitter,and a 5 year oldbrother,were each responsible for the child in one case. Parents are often especially careful and sometimeseven over-protective of their first child.It may thereforebe predictable that only three of the seventeen infantdeaths involved an only child.Five families had twochildren and seven infants came from families of three ormore children.It would seem that there is lesssupervision of the infant growing up in a large family.This may well reflect a factor of socio-economicdeprivation rather than mere numbers of siblings. Table I describes the reason for the child being leftunattended,the child's age and the time left alone.Three of the infants,18,20 and 20 months,had beenplaced in the bathtub not primarily for a bath,butrather to play.The mother in each case was utilizing thistime to do household chores,washing clothes in twocases and mopping the porch in the third.The 18monthold,in fact,was placed in the tub wearing a swimmingsuitOne mother admitted that the child played in thebath every morning while she did her housework.In December 1971 From The SOUTHWESTERN INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC SCIENCES Dallas Texas each case,the child drowned. In four cases,the child was left alone because themother,the grandmother,or the 16 year old aunt wascalled to answer the telephone or the doorbell.The timethey were absent ranged between two minutes and eightminutes.The children,aged 10,14,24 and 25 months,all drowned. # WHY DID THE INFANT DROWN? Due to the extreme emotional state of the personfinding the infant submerged in the bathtub and thetime interval before a professional investigator examinedthe scene,information concerning whether or not thedrain in the bathtub was closed,how fast the water wasrunning and the depth of water in the tub are notreliable.Most cases closely resemble one of three sets ofcircumstances.The tub may have contained only a fewinches of water but the infant siipped or fell face downin the water and drowned.Secondly,the mother mayhave filled the tub to a shallow level,closed the drainand turned off the water.The infant subsequentlyplaying with the tap,turned the water back on anddrowned when the tub filled beyond a safe depth.In thethird situation,the mother may have left the tap runningwith the drain open and only a small amount of water inthe tub.Later the water level in the tub rose and theinfant drowned because either the infant closed thedrain,turned the faucet on stronger,or the rate of fillingof the tub exceeded the rate of draining out. # WHY WAS THE INFANT SCALDED? The three infant deaths by scalding all have onething in common,someone turned on the hot waterwhile the infant was in the tub.The temperature of thehot water in most bathtubs is sufficiently hot to produceserious thermal burns.2 The mother of one 11 monthold left him alone after turning off the water.The infanthim

FAQs

What was the scope of the reported bathtub deaths?

Seventeen infants aged two years or younger died during baths in Dade County, Florida from 1956 to 1971. Fourteen drowned and three were scalded to death in hot water.

Why do infants drown in bathtubs according to the text?

The report describes scenarios where the tub has only a few inches of water and the infant slips or falls face down, cases where shallow filling is followed by the infant turning water back on to unsafe depth, and cases where the drain is open with the water level rising faster than it drains.

What causes the fatal scalding cases?

All scald deaths share one factor: someone turned on hot water while the infant was in the tub. Infants were then unable to turn off the faucet or exit before severe burns occurred.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by dhado