Physical Consequences of Shaking an Infant or Toddler
When does it happen?
Deliberately shaking an infant/child out of frustration or anger
most often occurs when the baby won't stop crying. Other triggering events include
toilet training difficulties and feeding problems.
What happens when I shake my baby/infant?
- The brain bounces back and forth within the skull cavity, bruising or destroying
the brain tissue.
- When shaking occurs, some blood vessels feeding the brain are torn leading
to bleeding around the brain.
- Blood pools within the skull, creating more pressure and probably causing
additional brain damage.
- Retinal (back of the eye) bleeding can occur. This can cause blindness.
What kind of consequences does this lead to?
The immediate consequences can be:
Breathing may stop
Seizures
Limp arms and legs
Decreased Level of consciousness
Heart may stop
Death
Long-term consequences can be:
Learning disabilitite
Physical disabilities
Visual Disabilities
Speech disabilities
Seizures
Death
Why does all this damage happen?
- Babies' heads are large and heavy, making up about 25% of their total body
weight. Their neck muscles are too weak to support such a disproportionately large
head.
- Babies' brains are immature and more easily injured.
- Babies' blood vessels around the brain are more susceptible to tearing than
older children or adults.
This information supplied by the National Information, Support
and Referral Service on Shaken Baby Syndrome, Ogden, Utah. Visit www.dontshake.com
for more information on SBS.
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