Rebecca Shepherdson

I tweet quite a bit - but this one is different and perhaps the most important I’ve ever written I hope it gets shared as much as possible, so new parents don't make the same mistake I nearly made (even as a dad of five, having worked in A&E for 23 years and someone who teaches about not missing a diagnosis because of cognitive biases). Our 6 week old baby is getting discharged today from @TheAlexBrighton @UHSussex after receiving the best possible care for meningitis. She is doing really well and as a family we can't begin to express our gratitude to all involved. The day she came in, she was not herself but nothing which particularly worried us. But my wife did her temperature, and it was over 38C. As she was under 3 months, it meant she needed to be seen in A&E ASAP. By the time we got to A&E she was really quite sick even though it was only 30mins after taking her temperature. I initially dismissed her signs and initially even questioned why my wife did her temperature. I had a cognitive bias, twisting my thinking to believing she was ok because that is what I wanted her to be, when she wasn't- a positivity bias. Please if you are worried about your new baby - be like my wife and not me, check their temperature, use your gut instinct and don't delay getting the help your baby needs. @M_R_F