Shaken Baby Syndrome
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
When a baby is vigorously shaken, the head moves back and forth. This sudden whiplash motion can cause bleeding inside the head and increased pressure on the brain, causing the brain to pull apart and resulting in injury to the baby. This is known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. A baby’s head and neck are susceptible to head trauma because his or her muscles are not bully developed and the brain tissue is exceptionally fragile. Head trauma is the leading cause of disability among abused infants and children.
Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs most frequently in infants younger than six months old, yet can occur up to the age of three. Often there are no obvious signs of inside injury, particularly in the head or behind the eyes. In reality, shaking a baby, if only for a few seconds, can injure the baby for life. These injuries can include brain swelling and damage, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, developmental delays, blindness, hearing loss. Paralysis and death. When a child is shaken in anger and frustration the force is multiplied five or ten times more than it would be if the child had simply tripped and fallen.
What Can You Do TO Prevent a Tragedy?
Never shake or throw a baby around. However, gently play with a baby will not cause these injuries.
Always provide support for the baby’s head and neck. Don’t wiggle or bounce an infant’s head.
Educate parents, grandparents, caregivers, new parents, babysitters, teenagers, siblings and licensed child care providers about the dangers of shaking a baby.
Choose childcare providers and baby sitters carefully. Know how they play with children, and how they will react when the children are upset.
If you or someone else shakes a baby, either accidentally or on purpose, call 911 or take the child to the emergency room immediately. Bleeding inside the brain can be treated. Immediate medial attention will save your baby many future problems … and possibly save the baby’s life.
When mothers drink alcohol while pregnant, their babies could have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). FAS and FAE are a group of bitth defects that have no cure. People with FAS and FAE have a range of problems as severe as being mentally retarded to less visible problems like difficulty paying attention in school. The diagnosed cases of FAS is estimated to be one to three per 1,000 live births. One in 100 Americans is affected by FAS/FAE.
There is no known safe amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman. When a woman drinks, her baby drinks because the alcohol passes directly through the placenta to the baby.
When a baby is vigorously shaken, the head moves back and forth. This sudden whiplash motion can cause bleeding inside the head and increased pressure on the brain, causing the brain to pull apart and resulting in injury to the baby. This is known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. A baby’s head and neck are susceptible to head trauma because his or her muscles are not bully developed and the brain tissue is exceptionally fragile. Head trauma is the leading cause of disability among abused infants and children.
Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs most frequently in infants younger than six months old, yet can occur up to the age of three. Often there are no obvious signs of inside injury, particularly in the head or behind the eyes. In reality, shaking a baby, if only for a few seconds, can injure the baby for life. These injuries can include brain swelling and damage, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, developmental delays, blindness, hearing loss. Paralysis and death. When a child is shaken in anger and frustration the force is multiplied five or ten times more than it would be if the child had simply tripped and fallen.
What Can You Do TO Prevent a Tragedy?
If you or someone else shakes a baby, either accidentally or on purpose, call 911 or take the child to the emergency room immediately. Bleeding inside the brain can be treated. Immediate medial attention will save your baby many future problems … and possibly save the baby’s life.
When mothers drink alcohol while pregnant, their babies could have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). FAS and FAE are a group of bitth defects that have no cure. People with FAS and FAE have a range of problems as severe as being mentally retarded to less visible problems like difficulty paying attention in school. The diagnosed cases of FAS is estimated to be one to three per 1,000 live births. One in 100 Americans is affected by FAS/FAE.
There is no known safe amount of alcohol for a pregnant woman. When a woman drinks, her baby drinks because the alcohol passes directly through the placenta to the baby.