Rebekah Griffin couldn’t understand why her baby had red, puffy eyes and a snotty nose every time he woke up. Until she made a disgusting discovery.

The mum-of-two says she’s sharing her story, to warn other mums to be on the lookout for the same symptoms.

She says her baby would wake with red, puffy eyes and a snotty nose. But when the family went on a holiday, the symptoms stopped. Once the family returned home, so too did the symptoms. Her baby had been sleeping in a bassinet, but she decided it was time to put in a cot, and it was then she discovered what had been happening.

“We used this bassinet with our first baby, and we had no issues,” Rebekah explained in a social media post. “BUT he was a back sleeper. Baby number two is a natural belly sleeper, and somehow, his drool soaked through the mattress and into the cork board causing black mould.

“Mould is nothing to mess around with. It destroys your health. My poor baby had such red eyes and was snotty every time he woke up. I thought he just had sensitive skin and was snotty from the cold weather, but no. It was mould.

“I was absolutely MORTIFIED when I saw the mould. I was in tears and couldn’t believe my baby had been sleeping on that for two months. “How did this happen? I keep it clean?? How on earth did this happen?” It definitely is scary sharing this, but I wanted to share this so you can be warned of it.

“Get a bassinet that doesn’t have a wood or cork bottom. If your baby likes to belly sleep, clean under the mattress often. DON’T mess around with mould. Anywhere. In your house, car, shower, whatever. It will destroy your body.”

According to Better Health, mould can trigger nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, wheezing, respiratory infections and worsen asthma and allergies. It recommends avoiding placing mattreses on the floor or surfaces without adequate ventilation, and turn mattresses regularly.