Overview of Shaken Baby Syndrom AKA Abusive Head Trauma

2398 Words5 Pages

Picture yourself with a brand new child, Holding it in your arms, comforting it, and putting it back to rest in its crib. Then you go about your day at home when all of a sudden the baby starts to cry very loud and doesn't stop. You start getting frustrated so you walk to where the baby is at and start to shake it so it will be quiet. After about ten seconds it calms down, and then falls asleep again. The baby doesn't cry again for a long time so you go back to check on it about two hours later. You notice the baby isn't moving, breathing, or showing any signs of life. What you don't know is that you just committed a murder called Shaken Baby Syndrome. Another term that is close to Shaken Baby Syndrome that I will be discussing in my paper is Abusive Head Trauma. Shaken Baby Syndrome is defined as shaking an infant or young child vigorously by the arms, legs, chest, or shoulders. This forceful shaking can result in brain damage leading to mental retardation, speech, learning disabilities, paralysis, seizures, hearing loss, blindness and even death. Shaken baby syndrome is very difficult to diagnose unless someone who is professionally trained knows what to look for. Physicians often report that infants with possible S.B.S. is brought to a medical facility due to falls, difficulty breathing, seizures, vomiting, consciousness, or choking. These diagnostics usually are from an internal head injury given to the baby by the shaking. To diagnose S.B.S, doctors look for retinal hemorrhages (bleeding in the retinas of the eyes), subdural hematoma (blood in the brain), and increased head size showing excessive fluid in the brain tissues (Squier, (2011), p. 521). If you see your child with bruises on their face or head could be caused by... ... middle of paper ... ...ldren, including statistics, risk factors, symptoms, therapies,and the long-term consequences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect, featuring facts about Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP),abusive head trauma, corporal punishment, parental substance abuse,incest, and child exploitation ; along with information about Child Protective Services, reporting abuse and neglect, legal protections, Juvenile Court,foster care and adoption, and parenting strategies, a glossary of relatedterms, and directories of resources for additional help and information.Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics. Stoll, B., & Anderson, J. K. (2013). Prevention of Abusive Head Trauma: A Literature Review. Pediatric Nursing, 39(6), 300-308. Squier, W. (2011). The "Shaken Baby" syndrome: pathology and mechanisms. Acta Neuropathologica, 122(5), 519-542. doi:10.1007/s00401-011-0875-2

More about Overview of Shaken Baby Syndrom AKA Abusive Head Trauma

Open Document