Susan Sarandon's daughter Eva Amurri Martino has revealed her newborn son was hospitalised when he was dropped by a nanny late last year, sending her into what she has described as "some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, possibly linked to some form of postpartum depression".
The actress and lifestyle blogger shared a recount of the emotional event in a post on her blog, Happily Eva After, on New Years Day.
Martino said the incident occurred "a couple of days after Thanksgiving", in late November, when the family's night nurse fell asleep while holding baby Major, who was born on October 19.
"[Martino's husband former US soccer player Kyle Martino] and I were sleeping at the time and were awoken by the sound of his head hitting the floor, and then hysterical piercing screams," she wrote.
The month-old bub the spent what Martino describes as "two harrowing days" receiving emergency care for a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.
Although her son was ultimately fine, Martino, who is also mother to two-year-old Marlowe, said she kept the story a secret from followers of her blog until now, because the event was "so scary" and she was worried some would suggest she deserved the near-tragedy for "allowing [her] child to be in the care of somebody other than [herself]", an argument she had found herself also believing.
"I wept in the hospital, telling anyone who would listen that it should have been me. That I was to blame," she wrote.
"The truth is, even this woman who came so highly recommended, with a perfectly clean track record, could make a very human mistake."
The night nurse is no longer employed by the family, although Martino said she was forgiven.
Martino wrote that her "instinct" tells her she has a degree of post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident, although she admits she is "not a doctor".
"Any time we are near an edge or a ledge, I fear that he will fall, somehow, and be hurt again," she wrote.
"Just last week, we were on the second floor of a Starbucks, and I sat there panicked and frozen as I imagined Major falling from my arms over the edge of the banister and on to the floor below. My brain played back the sound of his screams that night. I had to close my eyes and clench my teeth as the waves of nausea eventually subsided."
Martino said she would be taking two weeks off her blog to focus on herself and her family.
After the post was published, Martino shared a message of thanks to her Instagram account for all of the support she had received.
Fairfax Media
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