A mum filmed a video of herself “hitting” her daughter on the chest to raise awareness of her baby’s rare condition.
Sam Carrier, from Birmingham, shared the video on a Facebook page set up for her daughter, Daisy Evans Journey, to highlight the physio treatment for cystic fibrosis.
She acknowledged that people may find the video “shocking”, but explained the treatment is to “prevent lung damage”.
“Trust me it’s not as shocking for you as it is for us cystic fibrosis mums and dads who are told when our babies are two and a half weeks old that we need to do this to our child to try prevent lung damage,” she wrote on the video caption.
Carrier continued: “The point of this video is just a little insight into what physiotherapy is for a baby with cystic fibrosis.
“The treatment lasts 25 minutes and is three times a day. It doesn’t hurt her, we are taught how to do it properly so it doesn’t. Generally she just falls asleep or she lies there smiling at me.
“It makes them feel better. It’s like when we have an irritating cough and we finally get it off our chest, how much better we feel. This is what it does for them.
“Please feel free to share to help raise awareness.”
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition, which affects more than 10,800 people in the UK, it causes a build-up of thick sticky mucus in the lungs, digestive system and other organs.
Although Carrier received much support for sharing the video for awareness, she said she also received several comments criticising her and calling it “child abuse”.
“Thank you to everyone who has commented and shared this post,” she commented on the video. “To the trolls, hopefully you will do a bit of research before you put silly comments in the future.”
A spokeswoman for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust said: “Chest clapping is a form of physiotherapy for young children with cystic fibrosis.
“It helps clear the sticky-mucus which builds up in the lungs as a result of the condition.”
Carrier has a fundraising page, to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, where she explained more about her daughter’s condition.
She wrote about how she was told on 26 October 2016 that her daughter had tested positive for two strands of cystic fibrosis, one common and one rare.
“My world fell apart,” she wrote. “It was one of the worst days of my life.
“Myself and my partner have decided to try turn a postive. So we want to raise as much money as we can through various events for the trust who research into new medicines and one day possibly a cure.”