This is what happened to Lee Yates, 33, and his wife Michelle, 29, who have spoken to the Daily Mail about the shock of discovering their five-month-old baby Gabriella had been injured by the dirty shards.
The Liverpool-based couple rushed their daughter to hospital, worried that the cuts on her bottom would lead to septicaemia. Gabriella, who was born prematurely and has a low immune system, was treated for minor injuries at A&E. Fortunately nothing was embedded in her skin.
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Lee and Michelle were horrified to find more pieces of metal in the absorbent part of other nappies from the same jumbo pack of Pampers, which they had purchased from their local Asda in Liverpool.
“We were absolutely outraged and shocked that this had happened,” said Lee. “You put trust in these big companies, especially when dealing with intimate hygienic areas and you expect things like this to be checked and go through quality control.
“The metal was right in the core of the nappy, inside the cotton, and the metal was in the part of the nappy right near her intimate area. It’s just awful,” he added. “It was really sharp, like it had been left from the manufacturing process… We didn’t open up the other nappies as we didn’t want to tamper with them, but the marks are in the same spot on those, as if a cog or feeding mechanism was touching them in the same place.”
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The couple have stressed that they aren't seeking compensation for Gabriella’s injuries but want to “have someone investigate transparently, determine the cause and make sure that no other babies are affected.”
“We are very sorry to hear about this family’s experience and we are taking this matter very seriously,” said a spokesman for Pampers. “While we cannot comment on this case as it is being investigated, we are working with the parents to make sure the baby is well and to fully understand what has happened. Our number one priority is to ensure that our products are completely safe for the babies to use. Our nappies are made to very high standards and there are rigorous quality checks in place before the nappy reaches the store.”
My children have been out of nappies for a long time but this story still sends a chill down my spine. Accidents happen and mistakes are made but surely parents should be able to rely on a global brand like Pampers to keep metal out of their nappies.
Lee Yates wrote on his Facebook page this week that he had "found TWO other sets of parents with babies injured by metal in pampers nappies this week (sic)" so it looks like we haven't heard the last of this shocking story.
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