Objective: A study was undertaken to look at possible risks of shared bathing in early childhood.
Methods: Autopsy databases were searched at the Women's and Children's Hospital and State Coroner's Office, Adelaide, Australia, from January 1963 to December 1999, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, Melbourne, Australia, from January 1991 to December 1999, and the Children's Hospital-San Diego, San Diego, USA, from January 1990 to December 1999, for all cases registered as drowning in children aged 2 years and under who were in a bath with another child around the time of death.
Results: A total of 17 cases were found. The age range of the victims was 8-22 months (average=11.8 months), with a male to female ratio of 10:7. The surviving children (who were all siblings) were significantly older, with an age range of 19-48 months (average=30.4 months), and a male to female ratio of 12:5. (The survivors were on average 18.5 months older than the victims, range=11-32 months). In every case the children had been left unsupervised for variable periods of time.
Conclusions: These cases represented a significant component -- between 22 and 58% -- of bath drownings in the 2 years and under age group. It would appear that shared bathing for young children and infants may only acceptable if adult supervision is constant, and that a young sibling is not an appropriate person to look after an infant or toddler in the bath. While the risk of leaving an infant in a filled bath may be exacerbated if an older child is also present, further population-based studies are required to examine this hypothesis.