CHILD PHYSICAL ABUSE
Indicators of Shaken Baby Syndrome include:
- Unconscious, or decreased level of consciousness or drifting in and out of consciousness
- irritability – ranging from mild to extreme
- lethargy and limpness, lack of movement, inability to stay awake
- vomiting
- pale or blue tinged skin particularly around the lips
- loss of appetite or difficulty feeding
- increased respiratory rate or breathing problems
- convulsions or seizures,
- slow heart rate
- cold to the touch – low temperature
- pupils fixed and dilated, or different sizes
- bruising of the head and face
- bleeding leaking into the eyes
- bruising from grabbing around arms or on chest, or painful areas around the ribs, collarbone, or long bones that could indicate broken bones
- loss of eye control – inability to focus or eyes crossing over
- clear fluid from the ears
- change in sleeping pattern or inability to be wakened
- no pulse
- swelling of the head – a forehead that appears larger than usual, or a soft spot that seems to be bulging
- inability to lift head or move
- tremors or shakes
- not smiling or vocalising
- poor sucking or swallow reflexes
- going rigid or stiff
A baby’s neck muscles are weak, their brains are fragile, and their heads are relatively large and heavy. So violent shaking has a whiplash effect and makes the brain bounce back and forth in the skull causing bruising and swelling and bleeding. Shaken babies almost always have bleeding in the brain, and usually have detached retinas (eyes tearing off the retina) causing blindness, bleeding behind the retina, and damage to the spinal cord and neck, along with fractures of the ribs and bones.
Most medical opinions agree, that this set of injuries is not seen as a result of accidents.
Shaken Baby Syndrome doesn’t result from bouncing or swinging or tossing playfully, or taking the baby jogging. It also doesn’t happen by the baby or carer falling off chairs or down stairs or the baby accidentally being dropped. These kinds of accidents can result in different injuries – but usually involve more minor injuries and not those typical of shaken baby syndrome.
About a third of babies admitted to hospital after being shaken die. Of those that survive most suffer long term disabilities including blindness, cerebral palsy, paralysis, mental disabilities, seizures and muscular conditions.
The problem for Early Years Educators, is that these injuries and symptoms are not always immediately noticeable and may take up to several days to become evident. In fact, after being shaken, a baby may stop crying and lose consciousness – so a parent will just leave them thinking they are sleeping and hoping they will sleep off the symptoms.
This could mean that if the shaking occurs during the night or early in the morning, parents may deliver a baby to Day Care that appears initially to be sleeping soundly, or if the injuries are less severe then the symptoms can continue for days and be attributed to illness.
So, you need to know what to look for because quick action is vital in these cases and as you know, the duty of care you owe to an infant is extremely high – so you are best to err on the side of caution rather than wait a second too long.
