Shaken baby syndrome...
Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is a cause of infant mortality. Shaken baby syndrome is the most current name designating injuries of this type inflicted on a child. An alternate name is shaken impact syndrome.
In 1998, there were six declared cases of infanticide in Canada where the deaths were caused by shaken baby syndrome. Even with quick access to medical care, the practice remains highly disturbing, as one victim out of five dies from the injuries suffered.
The definition of this problematic is cited as follows: shaken baby syndrome occurs during violent repeated movements when an infant is violently shaken. The syndrome is also described as occurring when the infant's head is shaken violently back and forth or struck against an object.
To inflict this type of injury, the baby must be shaken hard enough that any adult witnessing the abuse could immediately tell that the baby was in danger of sustaining serious injuries.
Shaken baby syndrome is a form of abuse and is judged as the consequence of such. It is not the result of play, clumsy mishandling or an attempt to revive a baby in respiratory arrest.
Generally, shaken baby syndrome occurs most often at the age of 2-6 months, but children may be in danger up until two years old. Given the quite young age of victims, it is easy to understand that the consequences are sometimes fatal.
Violently and repeatedly shaking an infant jars the brain against the skull and causes serious neurological injuries: brain lesions generally accompanied by bleeding in the eyes (torn blood vessels), but also by serious tissue damage and brain swelling which can lead to death.
As a baby's head is proportionally larger and heavier than the rest of the body, and the baby's neck still weak, shaking causes violent force within the head that the neck muscles cannot attenuate, and serious damage can ensue.
Severity of injuries depends mainly on the force of the violence and the baby's size. If the injuries are serious, the child will soon exhibit serious symptoms such as convulsive attacks, respiratory arrest or blackouts.
Most victims who survive serious injuries are in danger of suffering major consequences to their development: paralysis, blindness, deafness, serious developmental impairment and repetitive convulsions.
Occasionally, victims remain in a vegetative state. Children with less severe brain injuries will have impacts such as motor and coordination problems, intellectual impairments or serious learning problems.
Thus far, studies suggest that infants who survived brain lesions associated with shaking will need special care throughout the rest of their lives.
Émilie Girouard, Bachelor of Psychoeducation
