Mum's shocking warning about changing mat that was studded with pins goes viral

Hayley's post has been shared thousands of times...

A mother's Facebook post has gone viral after she snapped a baby changing mat that was studded with drawing pins.

Hayley Turner's post, which has been shared 66k times, warns other mothers about the perils of public changing mats after her son was left looking like a 'pin cushion' when she accidentally laid him on top of the spikes.

Mother to baby Samuel, Hayley starts by saying 'I don't normally post things like this but I'm guessing if it happened to me it could happen to someone else, so I thought I'd spread a little word of warning to prevent it happening in the future....'

She then goes on to detail the shocking reason behind the picture of her little one's back covered in tiny holes, looking red and sore. Hayley says, 'Today I changed Samuels' nappy on a public changing mat, somewhere I trust to be a safe place.'

https://www.facebook.com/hayley.goodall.96/posts/10153489385598786?pnref=story

Just like any mother, Hayley trusted her instincts when Samuel seemed upset, saying 'When I led him down he screamed. I dismissed it as him being tired, cold and grumpy so I changed him as quickly as possible so I could give him a cuddle and calm him down.'

But it turns out Samuel was more than just 'tired, cold and grumpy' - he just had no way to tell his mum what was going on. In her Facebook post, which is accompanied by two pictures of Samuel's back and the changing mat, Hayley explains that there were 'drawing pins in the bottom of the changing mat' left there by people who thought it would be 'fun' to see babies hurt.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153492933493786&set=a.426757353785.201985.509893785&type=3&theater

Understandably Hayley was left furious at this vicious act. She finishes her post by saying, 'Angry doesn't even cover it. It's quite sad to think this has to be done but my word of warning is to CHECK YOUR CHANGING MATS!!'

Hayley's post has prompted an outpouring of well wishes from other mums with one user recommending more thorough routines around baby changing facilities. Emma Louise Ferguson commented saying, 'Where did this happen? the changing room should be checked every hour to be cleaned which should involve lifting and wiping the mat.'

Rosie Conroy
Food Writer

Rosie is an experienced food and drinks journalist who has spent over a decade writing about restaurants, cookery, and foodie products. Previously Content Editor at Goodto.com and Digital Food Editor on Woman&Home, Rosie is well used to covering everything from food news through to taste tests. Now, as well as heading up the team at SquareMeal - the UK's leading guide to restaurants and bars - she also runs a wedding floristry business in Scotland called Lavender and Rose.