What Is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
Shaken baby syndrome is one of the most violent types of child abuse caused by the fierce shaking of an infant or a toddler. One wouldn’t need to be a child specialist to know that a baby is extremely fragile and needs to be handled with utmost care. Yet, at times, people forget this fact and take out their frustrations on these little angels resulting in lifelong damage and even death, in severe cases.
Most relatives, friends or caretakers find it difficult to soothe a crying child when they know not what the child wants. Thus, they resort to shaking up the toddler in a futile attempt to keep him or her quiet. In rare cases, parents are also known to resort to this method of calming the child when nothing else seems to work. When shaken vigorously, the impact of the shaking causes the baby’s head to fall back and forward in a whiplash action. This primarily causes damage to the brain as the brain slams into the skull as a result of the vigorous shaking and this in turn affects the efficient functioning of the body. Violent shaking can also cause the neck to break. Fractures of the delicate bones in the baby’s body, especially the long bones, vertebrae and ribs, can also be a result of shaken baby syndrome. The violent act could also cause oxygen deprivation and swelling or bleeding in the brain.
The condition of the toddler post abuse depends on the severity of the action. Extreme cases are known to be fatal. In most cases, the toddler ends up living in a vegetative state. Varying levels of visual impairment and weakened auditory abilities as well as hampered cognitive and motor abilities are also characteristic of shaken baby syndrome. Shaken baby syndrome symptoms also include lethargy, irritability, altered breathing and dilated pupils. In most cases, a loss in appetite and a failure to thrive are also common. Children who have experienced shaken baby syndrome are also known to suffer from seizures. It is difficult to detect shaken baby syndrome by just looking at a child as the damage is mainly internal with no outwardly sign of violence.
Creating shaking baby syndrome awareness is the need of the hour. Knowing the serious outcome of shaking up a baby will make people stop to think before doing anything they would regret later. Learning to cope with stress and frustration will also help in decreasing the number of shaken baby syndrome cases.
Submitted by J on November 30, 2010 at 12:10
