Nurse sacked for posting offensive images of hospitalized newborns
Published: 11 Apr. 2025, 18:35
![A photo posted to social media shows a nurse holding up a baby with a caption reading, ″I’m itching to let one fall.″ The post began circulating on Apr. 1. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/04/11/66807327-5b30-4ce4-80b3-21c790da2e49.jpg)
A photo posted to social media shows a nurse holding up a baby with a caption reading, ″I’m itching to let one fall.″ The post began circulating on Apr. 1. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
A nurse at Daegu Catholic University Medical Center was fired for posting an abusive image of an infant in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the hospital said Friday.
According to the hospital, the nurse posted a photo of the infant on social media alongside captions such as “I’m itching to let one fall,” which was deemed abusive.
The hospital informed the infant’s father in writing that the nurse had been dismissed on April 4 following a review by its ethics committee.
The hospital came under fire when one of its NICU nurses was caught making abusive posts about hospitalized babies. The posts began circulating on parenting forums and online communities on April 1, quickly igniting public outrage.
In some images, the nurse held newborns in her arms or on her lap. The photos had captions such as, “My anger issues are rising" and “What time is it? Please just sleep already,” posted with a close-up photo of a baby’s face.
Given the critical and vulnerable condition of NICU patients, who often include children born premature or with low birthweights, the nurse’s actions were widely condemned as highly inappropriate.
The father of one of the infants filed a police complaint against both the nurse and the hospital president since the controversy came to light. The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency has booked both individuals on suspicion of child abuse and is currently investigating the case.
The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency has launched an investigation, including a search and seizure of the nurse’s mobile phone, to determine the duration of the abuse and whether additional individuals were involved.
The father claims that at least three other nurses participated in the abuse.
The hospital said it has identified two other nurses who shared the abusive post on their own social media accounts and is currently investigating whether they were directly involved in the mistreatment.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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