How to Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome

Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is violence against children, especially babies because of shocks that are too hard. This situation can be fatal, so it is important to be aware of it.

Caring for a baby is an experience that is so valuable for parents. Parents must be able to understand the baby and adapt to changes that occur in infants. In certain conditions, your baby may be fussy and crying. To calm the cry, sometimes the way that is considered the most effective in addition to breastfeeding the baby is by carrying and swinging it. A baby will certainly like it when swung. Soft swing done by his parents is like a cradle that can make the baby feel calm and asleep. However, this soft swing is different from shock.

Often, both to calm the baby or to take the baby to joke, parents try to swing or shake the baby hard so that the baby is calm and stops crying. Shocks like this need to be watched out. Why is that? Shaking too hard on a baby can result in injury to your baby, even the consequences can be very fatal for your baby. This is called Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) itself is a term to describe violence against children. This situation is caused by hard shocks carried out in children.

The main causes of violence that can result in SBS are that the baby stops crying or is fussy. It is known, the other cause is because children are difficult to eat.

Risk of Shaken Baby Syndrome in Children

Shaken baby syndrome itself is usually often found in children under 2 years old. However, this situation does not rule out the possibility of being experienced by children under five or from two to five years.

In some cases, this shaken baby syndrome can cause permanent disability. Even in more severe cases can cause death. In addition, permanent brain injury, bleeding in the eyes, spinal cord injury can be experienced by the baby. Based on data from America, there are around 1,000 to 1,500 shaken baby syndrome cases every year. Victims who experience shaken baby syndrome are mostly babies aged 3-8 months.

Why Shaken Baby Syndrome Can Be Fatal?

This situation can be fatal because the body structure is still weak. The baby's brain still contains a lot of fluid, besides that the baby's neck muscle is still unable to support properly and stable. If a strong shock is applied to the baby, the result can cause a pull or stretch between the brain and the brain membrane attached to the head bone. Where this pull or range can result in the rupture of blood vessels which acts to connect the brain to the lining of the brain. Even though the tear is very small, but still the consequences can be fatal to the baby. If bleeding is cleared, it will be quite difficult to overcome.

If bleeding in the brain occurs, the symptoms that will be experienced by the baby include vomiting and convulsions. In more severe cases can cause the baby unconscious, even to cause death. Another symptom is that it can cause bleeding in the retina of the eye, where this condition can cause blindness.

Shocks or swings that are done too strongly can also cause the bones of the legs, arms, broken legs. This situation can occur because when swinging the baby held is not the body, but the legs, arms or armpits.

Here are some common symptoms of the shaken baby syndrome in infants:

The baby looks lethargic, and he doesn't smile as much as usual.
The baby is not strong enough to suck and swallow.
The baby's appetite has decreased, the baby has difficulty eating and he has vomited without cause.
Babies rarely smile.
Having convulsions.
Babies rarely smile.
Having difficulty breathing.
Not able to lift your head.
The baby's head or forehead is bigger than usual. In some cases, the baby's head can experience swelling.
The baby's vision becomes out of focus, eye movements change and the pupil size of the baby's eyes is not the same.

If the baby shows symptoms as mentioned above, then the parent must be alert. Without thinking, immediately take the baby to the doctor to get the best treatment.

Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome

Knowing the shaken baby syndrome can be fatal, so you must be able to prevent it. Some things can be done to prevent this situation such as:

Avoid shaking the child or baby, even if the shock is not too hard.
When you are emotional, it is better to put the baby in the box. Because when anger rises, anything can be done is no exception to shaking the baby in your arms.
Avoid punishing children when you are emotional because you might become self-forgetful. It would be better to calm down first. After that, you can apply the right sentence to your child.
Avoid playing or joking with babies by shaking or swinging a baby.
If you want to put your baby on a swing, then you should use a special swing and swing it gently and carefully.
Always watch your baby when he is playing with a brother or other older children.
Choose a child caregiver who can be truly trusted.
Avoid any impact that your baby will experience.
Avoid shaking the baby too hard when you carry it.
If parents experience psychic problems, then they should immediately seek relevant professional help. This is done so parents can care for their children safely and responsibly.

Shocks That Can Cause Shaken Baby Syndrome

Actually, there is no clear number of times the shock that can cause medical consequences, or how long the shocks can cause fatal consequences for the baby. Generally, most shocks occur in about 20 seconds or less. In some cases, the period of shock is about 5-10 seconds and the shock is carried out with force.

Diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome

To diagnose this condition, it is necessary to have a joint interview with the person who takes care of the child every day. Investigations can be carried out such as CT scans or head MRIs. This examination is done to detect damage to the brain and bleeding. In addition, X-rays can help detect fractures. An eye examination is usually done to look for the presence or absence of bleeding in the retina of the eye.

Knowing shaken baby syndrome is very fatal for the baby, so as much as possible avoid swinging the baby too hard. Prevent this situation with a number of precautions as mentioned earlier. In essence, as a parent, you must be more aware of your child's condition. Babies are still weak, so it's important to treat them gently and carefully.