We hear about it in court cases and we know never to shake a baby, but here's how it happens anyway and what the consequences are.
We love our children more than ourselves. We want to cuddle them, feed them and take care of them as best we can because we know they are vulnerable, but in some people, impatience and unconsciousness cause them to violently shake their baby, causing what we called shaken baby syndrome. The abrupt jerking and head-spinning movements tear blood vessels around the brain and strike the brain itself, which then hits hard against the skull. These babies will live with the consequences all their lives…if they survive.
Easily identified if witnessedIt's obvious when an adult shakes a baby. The force required to produce lesions when shaking a baby is quite substantial. Picking up your squirming child, playing normally with him and practicing resuscitation maneuvers cannot be responsible for shaken baby syndrome. Shaking a child to the point of causing injury is a very violent act that cannot be confused with a gesturenormal.
Why does someone go so far as to shake a child?
It's really hard to understand what goes through the mind of someone who is violently shaking a baby. However, we know that it is not always easy to be a parent. At first, babies hardly let us sleep and they cry a lot because they cannot express their needs otherwise. They also sometimes have colic, which is a very difficult time for parents who no longer know how to comfort their baby. A little later, the children express themselves, oppose, reject certain things and can have phenomenal crises. This is very frustrating for parents, especially if they tend to doubt their skills.
In some very sad cases, an exhausted parent grabs their child and shakes them violently, thinking perhaps that they will finally "understand" and shut up. This is obviously a misperception and when these parents realize it it is often too late, the damage is done. Even older children can suffer serious injuries when they are shaken, stirred, hit. In more severe cases, children can die.
Not Just ParentsParents aren't solely responsible for Shaken Baby Syndrome. Sometimes parents entrust their child to someone who does not handle the stress of babysitting badly and who shakes the baby for lack of experience and resources.
For this reason and for many others, it is important to entrust your child to asomeone you trust.
Signs a baby has been shaken
Shaken Baby Syndrome is a traumatic brain injury that can cause brain damage, disabilities such as blindness or paralysis, and even death. A baby who has been shaken may show the following symptoms:
- He is sleepy or irritable
- He doesn't want to eat anymore or very little
- He vomits
- He's not smiling anymore
- He doesn't babble anymore
- He doesn't look at people the way he used to, his eyes roll back, he has trouble staring at objects
- He stiffens his arms and legs
- He has convulsions
- It has no more tone
- He has trouble breathing
If you think your baby has been shaken, call 911, get to your doctor's office quickly, or go straight to the emergency room.
What to do to calm down?
It is to avoid such unfortunate events that so much emphasis is placed on gentle methods to calm a baby. If your baby is going through a difficult time and you feel that you will soon lose your temper, there are many solutions available to you.
- The first thing to do is put baby in his crib, close the door to his room and take a few minutes to calm down and regain control over your emotions. It is better to let baby cry for 5-10 minutes in his safe bed than to risk losingpatience and do something unfortunate.
- Call a loved one! Talking, crying over yourself, getting angry on the phone and talking about what is happening to you will do you the greatest good and divert your attention.
- Take a shower! Put your child in bed and go take a shower. You will thus have a moment of solitude which will clear your ideas.
- Call a help line! The TelJeunes Foundation, among other things, offers a support service for parents.
- Ask those around you for help! Call a friend, neighbor or relative to take over for a few hours.
