Shaken Baby Syndrome Cases Double With Downfall In Economy

March 20, 2009 by tanya
Filed under: Baby Health, News

Shaken baby syndrome cases have doubled in some parts of the States over the last few months according to specialists.

It is believed that factors, such as the credit crunch, and unemployment levels are increasing family stress and incidents of child abuse.

The syndrome often occurs as a result of an adult violently shakes a baby. Often the carer has been driven over the edge when they are unable to stop their child crying. Young infants are unable to hold their head steady as their neck muscles are not fully developed.

It is estimated that one in four babies die if they develop the syndrome. The other victims are often left with neurological defects as their brains are unable to recover the trauma.

Child protection organisations are calling for better public education on the potentially devastating brain injury.

Executive director, Suzin Bartley, of Massachusetts Children‘s Trust Fund, which runs programs to highlight the dangers of shaking babies said “This is a tragedy that we need to pay attention to, especially during these really difficult, stressful economic times,”

“You never know what the level of frustration is in an individual family that may be contributing to them feeling totally overwhelmed,” she said. “And an inconsolable, incessantly crying baby can send you right over the edge. And if you’ve got other young children, and you’re working odd hours trying to keep a family together, and you don’t understand that sometimes babies just cry, then you can be more vulnerable to shaking as a reaction.”

More public education is required as it is hard to predict which babies are most at risk. Many of the cases involve families which do not have a past record of abuse or neglect.