Shaken Baby Syndrome - a Form of Child Abuse
Posted by Donna Dolezal Zelzer on June 2nd, 2006
It only takes a few seconds, just a shake or two in anger because the baby won’t stop crying….
But these few seconds can mean permanent damage, even death, to the innocent child.
According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, when an infant or small child is violently shaken, her brain rotates within her skull cavity, injuring or destroying her brain tissue. Also, blood vessels leading to her brain can be torn and blood can pool within her skull, which can cause even more brain damage.
Every year in the United States treatment is sought for an estimated 1200 - 1400 children who have been shaken. Of these, 25 -30% will die as a result of their injuries. The rest will have lifelong complications. And these are only the children who have been brought in for help….
What can happen to a baby when you shake her?
These are some of the consequences of shaking an infant or toddler, from tne National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
Immediate consequences can include:
- Problems with breathing
- Extreme irritability
- Seizures
- Limp arms and legs or rigidity/posturing
- Decreased level of consciousness
- Vomiting/poor feeding
- Inability to suck or swallow
- Heart may stop
- Death
Long-term consequences can include:
- Learning disabilities
- Physical disabilities
- Visual disabilities or blindness
- Hearing impairment and speech disabilities
- Cerebral palsy
- Seizures
- Behavior disorders
- Cognitive impairment
- Death
Please visit the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome for more information, including
- Common Symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Special Education for Survivors of Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Family stories
License
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.