A London mother, Lauren Parker, has bravely shared her harrowing experience of a “careless” mistake that nearly had tragic consequences for her four-week-old daughter. Her powerful story aims to shed light on the often-unspoken “terrifying side of motherhood,” where parents can make mistakes and face immense guilt, irrespective of the outcome.

The incident occurred one evening when Lauren was carrying her one-month-old daughter downstairs in a moses basket after bath time. As she descended, she tripped on her cat, an unexpected accident that led to her daughter rolling down each step of the staircase. Despite managing to maintain her own balance and hold onto the moses basket, the terrifying sight of her baby tumbling left Lauren in profound shock and screaming in disbelief.

Recounting the moment, Lauren confessed, “I’ve never been in shock like that since. I thought I had killed her, I thought she was dead because she wasn’t moving.” Overwhelmed by fear and guilt, she sat at the top of the stairs crying, believing her daughter was gone. Her younger sister quickly called an ambulance, and they were rushed to the children's A&E, where Lauren observed her daughter's eyes were half-open and