Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is an incident that will forever change and affect the victimized child dramatically. Most normal children are able to develop normally without deficits in areas of occupations or performance skills, but a child with SBS may never be the same. The lasting effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome impact a child’s life in areas of occupations such as social participation, play, and education.
Characteristics of Shaken Baby Syndrome
Etiology
Shaken Baby Syndrome is, “a condition of whiplash-type injuries, ranging from bruises on the arms and trunk to retinal hemorrhages or convulsions, as observed in infants and children who have been violently shake; a form of child abuse that often results in intracranial bleeding from tearing of cerebral blood vessels” (Jacobs & Jacobs, 2004, p. 214).
Signs/Symptoms
There are numerous signs and symptoms that characterize Shaken Baby Syndrome such as extreme irritability, difficulty staying awake, breathing problems, poor eating, tremors, vomiting, pale or bluish color, seizures, paralysis, and coma (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). The severity of symptoms is dependent on the severity of shaking inflicted upon the child. A hallmark symbol of SBS could be hemorrhages in the retinas of the eyes (Blackman, 1990, p. 70) or absence of external injuries (Miehl, 2005, p. 113).
Risk Factors
Risk factors involve the child itself and the parent or caretaker. Risk factors for the child consist of male gender, history of colic, prematurity, low birth weight, drug/nicotine/alcohol exposure, or withdrawal syndrome, special needs or medically fragile and babies with poor bonding to caregivers (Meskauskas, Beaton, & Meservey, 2009, p. 326). Young parental age, unstable family environment, low soc...
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Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD) was a proposed by Van der Kolk and D’Andrea (2010). The premise of DTD is based on research data of individuals involved in several research studies. According to Van der Kolk and D’Andrea (2010), DTD is the result of living in a fear-based environment which includes, poor treatment by primary caregivers, instability, and neglect. This type of inadequate treatment is often hidden, meaning it is may not be visible on the surface. Neglectful caregiver-infant relationships perpetuate DTD. These interactions relay the message to the infant or child that the world is not safe, is threatening, and is unreliable. This lack of emotional safety is often as damaging as lack of physical safety (Van der Kolk & d’Andrea,
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...
Data collection includes an extensive clinical and or forensic interview of the person/child in question; Interview of the collateral sources; behavioral / bonding observations; administration and interpretation of appropriate and required objective and standardized neurocognitive, psychological, and forensic tests; and through review of available records. Data analysis and integration comprises of synthesis of information received from the interviews, collateral sources, testing and the records. During this process special emphasis is on looking at the consistencies and inconsistencies in the data. Consideration of special needs of the child and families, available resources, and cultural factors are an integral part of this process. Finally, case is formulated based on the theoretical knowledge, legal presumptions, care and safety doctrine and scientific principles. Subsequently, the referral question is answered with maximum clinical/psychological certainty. All these steps are performed in the most ethical manner and the evaluator is to uphold the highest professional standard of practice of
The mayo clinic defines shaken baby syndrome as an “abusive head trauma, shaken impact syndrome, inflicted head injury or whiplash shake syndrome – is a serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler” (Shaken Baby Syndrome, 2011, para. 1). Shaken baby syndrome destroys a child's brain cells and prevents his or her brain from getting enough oxygen. According to the Mayo Clinic (2011) “Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse that can result in permanent brain damage or death” (Shaken Baby Syndrome, para. 1) When a parent, caregiver and or an adult violently shakes an infant, or young child, the brain rocks back and forth inside the cranium causing permanent damage and creating a bleeding and potentially causing death to the infant or child. If death does not happen, then the infant or child can have developmental delays, mental retardation, total blindness, hearing loss and cerebral palsy. This will result in them having to be taken care of the rest of their lives (The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 1990)
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Not only are these children affected for the rest of their lives, but the offender, in many countries, will face criminal charges for having shaken the child. Since prevention is better than cure, it is imperative that people are educated about SBS via various platforms. Furthermore, high-risk parents, and all parents in general, should have great support from family and close friends to assist them in times when they are overwhelmed. This is only natural given the demanding nature of raising children. Notwithstanding this truth, SBS is preventable and no one should ever shake a baby.
Palusci MD, MS, Vincent J.. "Shaken Baby/Shaken Impact Syndrome." Kids Health For Parents. August 2004. Nemours Foundation. Web. 18 Oct 2014.
What exactly is Shaking Baby Syndrome? Shaken Baby Syndrome is a serious brain injury that occurs when adults, frustrated and angry with children, shake then violently, and Shaken Baby Syndrome mostly occurs when a child receives numerous rapid shakes. It can also occur when a baby is slammed against a hard object; head impact is not necessary but does frequently occur. Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs frequently in infants younger than six months old, yet can occur up to the age of 5. (Showers, 1997.) In reality, shaking a baby if only for a few seconds can injure the baby for life.
In conclusion, Child abuse and neglect is more common in children’s lives today. A child may be harmed and be right in front of us and we do not even know it. We have to watch out for the signs and symptoms to try and help a child out. We may not even realize it till it is too late. The effect can appear in all aspects of life, rather it being psychological or behavioral. These effects can range from anything such as minor physical injury, not getting along with others, or become aggressive and affect them later on in life.
The purpose of the study was to determine if a statewide abusive head trauma (AHT) prevention and education program would decrease the occurrence of Shaken Baby Syndrome compared to other states without the intervention program. The Period of PURPLE Crying intervention and prevention program educates parents about typical infant crying and the dangers associated with shaking an infant or young child. The researchers hypothesized a 50% drop in the occurrence of AHT in North Carolina from the previously established baseline. The program included a 3-minute education provided by the nurse, an informational booklet and a video prior to discharge from the hospital. The message was then reinforced during doctor's visits throughout the first month of life and through radio commercials. Secondary to the study's main purpose, the researchers obtained data from the nurse advice telephone line to examine any changes in rate of
With physical violence in mind, recognizing the signs of abuse can be quite difficult. Statisticbrain.com states, “17.6% of all child abuse cases have to do with physical maltreatment, and 80.8% of the perpetrators were the child’s parent or parents” (“Child Abuse Statistics”). Then, suspicion often arises when the parent’s exp...
The parent-child relationship is critical to the physical and brain development of a child. In its most literal sense, ‘trauma’ means a...
Porter, Theresa and Gavin, Helen (2010) "Infanticide and Neonaticide: A Review of 40 years of research literature on incidence and causes". Trauma Violence Abuse 2010 pp. 99-112.
Shaken baby syndrome or SBS according to google is, “an injury to a baby caused by being shaken violently and repeatedly.” 80% of babies who have SBS suffer from lifelong disabilities. These disabilities include speech and learning disabilities, seizures, hearing loss, and sometimes can result in death. Shaken baby syndrome is very dangerous, and can be avoided. Parents should be informed on the long lasting effects of shaken baby syndrome. There are designated classes to take, so people can be aware of the effects of SBS and what to do when a baby has been shook. Even if you’re not a parent, it is still encouraged for any caregiver or babysitter, or anyone who deals with infants on a daily basis, to take this class to be aware. Most times SBS occurs when a baby is 6 months or younger.