The children cry. It seems to be obvious, but there are many parents who do not take it into account and get a surprise if they touch one of those babies that besides eating, sleeping and smearing the diaper, they cry asking for arms not to be alone.
Children cry, and the baby's crying has the power to bother us, and much. There are studies, in fact, that show that crying is the most unbearable noise there is, and the reason is very clear: babies have basic needs, crying is their way of asking us to attend to them and if we do not intensify it to that, when bothering us, we react.
However, that crying, which sometimes seems to get us down the eardrums, repeated for a long time, that which happens sometimes even when we have them in our arms and does nothing but accumulate fatigue and exhaustion in parents, can derive in a loss of patience, soon, anger, an explosion in the form of "Enough is enough!" that put the baby at risk of shaking baby syndrome if the parents shake it mad because they can't anymore
What is shaken baby syndrome?
It is also known as shaken baby syndrome and contemplates all the consequences that a baby can suffer after being shaken by his father or by his mother. They can be from a mild concussion to head and neck injuries that end up causing life-long effects or even death to the baby. In fact, this syndrome is the leading cause of death in cases of traumatic brain injury due to abuse, and it is estimated that 1,200 and 1,400 cases of children with injuries or death for this reason occur in the United States.
When it is more prevalent it is in the first year and the average age is the nine months of the baby's life. While it is shaken, not having enough strength to support its head, the baby's brain moves back and forth inside the skull and can cause eye damage, brain damage, spinal cord damage, developmental delay and a long etcetera derived from all possible lesions in a still immature brain.
Never shake your baby
The parents, or caregivers who do, have no intention of harming the baby (normally). It is a consequence of the frustration of seeing the baby keep crying and that he has exhausted all the patience, and the fatigue and the overwhelm of the moment does the rest: an explosion of strength and very dangerous screams. So dangerous that in just 5 seconds of shaking life effects may occur.
That is why parents are always told that you should never shake your baby and always keep in mind what are the possible consequences of doing so. To do this, it is recommended that they do what is possible and impossible to try to regain their calm, and that the baby be left to cry alone in a safe place while seeking help.
In this regard and as a prevention, the US government, through its Medline health page, recommends the following:
- Never shake a baby or child, even when playing or out of anger. Even shaking it gently can become a violent shake, when you are angry.
- Do not carry your baby during an argument.
- If you start to get upset or angry with your baby, place the baby in the crib and leave the room. Try to calm down. Call someone to help you.
- Call a friend or family member to come and stay with the child if you feel out of control.
- Talk to your pediatrician to assess if the baby's crying has a medical reason.
- Seek the help of a therapist and attend classes on parenting.
- Do not ignore the signs if you suspect that a child is a victim of abuse in your home or in the home of someone you know.
In short, the important thing is to avoid it. So for this we must know that shaking it can be very dangerous and if we feel that we are about to lose control, leave the baby alone in the crib. If we can find someone to serve you, the better. If it is not possible, it is better not to take it and try to calm down before doing so.
