Ever since we got married, we’ve been having series of challenges in our marriage. The first was the inability to conceive. We spent about 3 years together before we were blessed with a beautiful daughter. She was just about 8 weeks old that morning when my wife rushed out to buy something, leaving her in my care. She promised to be back in a couple of minutes and all I need to do was to watch over the baby.
I was sitting next to the baby thinking of the bills I have to pay and other challenges in my life when the baby started crying uncontrollably. I carried her and tried to comfort her but the crying intensified. I felt perhaps the baby was uncomfortable because I was sitting down, so I stood up and even tried to sing to make her stop crying but she didn’t. Instead, she cried and cried the more. “Hey! Little girl, I’m your dad okay? Can you just stop crying?” I said. I was angry that all my efforts to make her stop crying weren’t yielding any positive result. Perhaps, if I give her a little shake, she’ll come to her senses I thought. So I grabbed her tiny shoulders and shook her, “Can you just stop crying already? STOP!” I said while shaking her. The remedy seemed to work because she stopped crying immediately. I felt relieved especially as my wife walked in that moment too. I handed the baby over to her quickly so I could attend to other issues but she stood there transfixed with her mouth agape. “What’s the problem” I asked? And she screamed “What have you done? What did you do to our daughter? Her skin is discolored and she’s in a COMA!” “I just shook her a little bit” I said shrugging. “Wait, did you say COMA? HOW”? Even before I could realize what she was talking about, she already left with the baby heading straight to the hospital. “I only made the baby to stop crying, what does she mean by saying the baby is in a Coma”? I pondered over this as I dressed up quickly to meet them at the hospital.
“We almost lost her” my wife cried! It’s a good thing she’s alive but…… but…… and then she wept! “But what”? I asked clearly perturbed. “The shake affected her brain cells and now she’s blind” my wife sobbed. “What? Blind? How…”?
I felt so terribly. How could I have known that a 5-second shake would make my daughter blind? It’s a guilt I would live with for the rest of my life. But you can prevent SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME so that you will not end up like me.
What is SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?
This is a problem that occurs when you shake a baby. It is common in children below 2 years (predominantly 6-8weeks old) and can also affect those up to 5 years. A baby has a relatively big, heavy head and weak neck muscles with delicate blood vessels. When you shake a baby, the brain hit the inside of the skull repeatedly and can lead to bleeding and bruising of the brain as well as brain swelling. Some babies may even stop breathing which can cause further brain damage. Some babies who are shaken also have broken ribs because they are held forcibly around the chest and squeezed when they are shaken. They may also suffer other broken bones during the shaking. Shaken Baby Syndrome can also occur when a baby falls off furniture or when there is a sudden stop in the car.
Symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome:
- Vomiting
- Irritability
- Seizures
- Drowsiness
- Breathing problems
- Body tremors
- Paralysis
- Coma
- Discolored Skin
Risk Factors:
- Alcohol or substance abuse
- Depression
- Unstable family situations
Consequences:
- Permanent/Irreversible brain damage
- Paralysis
- Blindness
- Deafness
- Seizures
- Broken bones
- Cerebral Palsy
- Death
Prevention:
- If you feel frustrated when your child cries uncontrollably, leave the child in the care of someone else who is capable of taking care of the baby at that moment
- Understand the need of the baby, because crying is the major means of communication for babies. Try to figure out why the baby is crying and attend to the needs of the baby.
- Walk away! You can put the baby in a safe place, close the door and take a break for some minutes.
- Share this article and get others informed.
I hope you find these tips useful. Don’t shake your baby, or someone’s baby. Have a beautiful day and keep in mind, a life of Probity is worth living!
